NCJ Number
171217
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 64 Issue: 5 Dated: (May 1997) Pages: 19-20
Date Published
1997
Length
2 pages
Annotation
The Survivors Club is comprised of deserving police officers who have survived potentially fatal or disabling injuries through the use of personal body armor.
Abstract
The first documented and recorded instance of a U.S. law enforcement officer being saved as a result of having worn a concealable ballistic vest occurred in May 1973 in Detroit. When several police officers went to a residence to make a drug arrest, a shot pierced the front door and hit one police officer in the chest. The police officer was saved because he was wearing body armor. In January 1997, the 2,000th U.S. law enforcement officer was saved by concealable body armor. Despite being shot twice in the course of a traffic stop, he was spared serious injury by his bullet-resistant vest. The probability of a firearms-related fatality for a police officer not wearing body armor is 14 times higher than for a police officer who is wearing body armor. Continuing advances in research and development have produced soft body armor that is easier to wear. New fibers have properties tailored for specific applications and are stronger than earlier fibers. The Survivors Club was established to encourage the use of body armor, to recognize deserving individuals who have survived a life-threatening incident as a result of wearing body armor, and to serve the law enforcement community by sharing information on survivor incidents.