During the past couple of months, Police1 has been closely following the new body armor standard introduced in July by the NIJ. The new standard, NIJ Standard-0101.06, Ballistic Resistance of Body Armor, is intended to ensure that the vests police officers wear will continue to protect them as the material ages. It also reminds us of the importance of wearing your vest every time you go out on patrol.
Bakersfield Police Officer Dennis Eddy, pictured here at a ceremony held in his honor at the Street Survival Seminar in Anaheim, Calif. in September 2008. Officer Eddy returned to full duty just ten months after he was struck by gunfire in a gang-infested neighborhood in southeast Bakersfield, Calif. Not only did Eddy survive, he was able to put shots downrange at the suspect. (Photo by Doug Wyllie/PoliceOne) |
According to the NIJ, body armor has saved the lives of more than 3,000 police officers since 1975. As is regularly illustrated in the Street Survival Seminar, the dialogue about donning body armor becomes considerably more real when you have a name and a face to associate with the discussion. Ed Hinchey, Armor Technical Specialist and Law Enforcement Liaison for Safariland, agrees.
“The FBI statistics for officers who are feloniously killed—I think the trainers who use those reports need to put faces and names to them and say, ‘these guys are local’ or ‘these are recent guys who were harmed, injured, or even killed in the line of duty.’ And they have to go right on through those examples and show which ones were wearing their armor and which ones weren’t,” Hinchey says. “Look at the percentages but put names and faces; not just numbers.”
One “name and face” who is personally known to several of us at Police1 is Bakersfield Police Officer Dennis Eddy, who in December 2008 returned to the streets just ten months after he was shot and lost part of his leg. Officer Eddy was struck twice (in the chest and in the leg) by gunfire in a gang-infested neighborhood in southeast Bakersfield, Calif.
Not only did Eddy survive, he was able to put shots downrange at the perpetrator, a member of the “East Side Crips” gang named Leon Anderson, who was subsequently shot and killed by Eddy’s fellow officers.
“February 9th will be one year since my shooting and the day that Second Chance saved my life,” Officer Eddy tells Police1 in an exclusive interview. “I’m so grateful. All is well. I’ve been back for about six weeks now and having a blast.”
Officer Eddy says that after his incident, Bakersfield PD authorized an upgrade to an NIJ threat level III-A. “I would love to see police agencies nationwide require their officers to wear their vests,” he says. “It’s proven time and time again that they save lives.
“They could replace my limb after amputation, but had I not been wearing my vest, that wouldn’t be necessary because I wouldn’t be here today. Every officer and Police Department nationwide would not tolerate an officer reporting for duty without their issued firearm. An unprotected officer, and by that I mean anyone not wearing a vest, cannot help the public or their partner if they can’t survive the fight. Vest up!”
