THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 6, 1994 TAG: 9407020196
SECTION: ISLE OF WIGHT CITIZEN PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JODY R. SNIDER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ISLE OF WIGHT LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
Last week, Isle of Wight sheriff's deputies were riding the county roads with nothing but the shirts on their backs.
This week, they're wearing bullet-proof vests.
On Thursday, 32 vests were issued to the Isle of Wight Sheriff's Department, compliments of the state vest program operated by the Fraternal Order of Police John Marshall Lodge No. 2.
Virginia residents paid $25 or more in donations to purchase the vests, which are valued at $16,000.
James S. Gaudet, national trustee for the FOP program, said the order for the 32 vests was pushed up for Isle of Wight because of the three police officers recently killed in Hampton and Newport News.
``The FOP evaluates the threat in the area,'' he explained. ``And this area had the additional threat because three police officers, within a 50-mile area, have been killed within the last six months,'' he said.
Sheriff's Capt. David Cobb said his IOW deputies were badly in need of new vests. Cobb said not all officers in the department had vests, and those who did had outdated models that provided little protection.
The material in most vests tends to break down after five years because of sweat and water absorbed while being worn. The result is that a bullet could penetrate a vest.
Vests for the FOP program have been purchased from Guardian Technologies International, Oliver North's company in Sterling. Fibers used in the vests are made in Petersburg.
North's company sells between 4,000 and 5,000 vests at $486 a piece each year, said Dave Wilcox, director of sales for Guardian Technologies.
The advantages to North's vests over other companies are many, said Wilcox.
Wilcox said the vests weigh less than others, less than four pounds; they carry a 10-year warranty while other companies carry only five years and North's company includes a $50,000 insurance policy in case the vest fails to shield an officer. Most companies don't offer that insurance.
The vest also wraps completely around the officer's middle section.
Gaudet noted that slain Newport News police officer Steven Rutherford was wearing a vest when he was shot, but the vest was open at the sides and did not wrap around the midsection.
Rutherford died from shots that pierced his side.
In addition, Wilcox said that the older vests were designed to stop bullets from guns like a Saturday Night Special or a .357-caliber Magnum.
``Today,'' he said, ``the threat is the 9mm ball ammunition. It's harder to stop, and it doesn't break up as easy,'' he explained.
Wilcox said the vests are also a lifesaver when an officer gets in an automobile accident and hits the steering wheel of a car.
``We've had more lives saved in auto accidents than in shootings,'' he said.
Gaudet, a retired head of homicide for the Richmond Police, said about 33 percent of all police officers in the United States wear vests, but most are officers in large metropolitan areas.
``The rich areas have everything they need,'' he said, ``but the poor rural areas don't have, and never will have, everything they need.''
The vest program is in its second year, and so far Virginia residents have contributed $237,913 to pay for 443 vests.
Gaudet said each officer is fitted for a vest, and the vest is issued to the individual. If the officer leaves one police department and goes to another, the vest goes with him. However, if an officer leaves police work, the vest stays with the department, he said.
Gaudet said once these vests become outdated, obtaining replacements will be acquired.
``We're just thrilled to get them,'' Cobb said. by CNB