Vest Might Be Bulletproof but Wearer Still Vulnerable

Bulletproof vests have saved the lives of many police officers attacked in the line of duty, but they are not a “cure-all,” said the manufacturer of the vest worn by slain Garden Grove Officer Howard E. Dallies Jr.

Dallies was killed Tuesday morning by a bullet that struck him in the stomach just below the vest, which his Police Department required that he wear on duty.

“A vest will protect vital areas, but there are areas of the body that aren’t protected,” said Tony Borgese, vice president of law enforcement affairs for Point Blank Body Armor L.P., a New York-based company which sells about 100,000 bulletproof vests a year to law enforcement agencies nationwide.

“There have been occasions where officers have been shot in areas where the vests didn’t protect,” Borgese said. “If you were totally encased in armor, you would not be able to perform normal police functions.”

Officers from several Orange County police departments said Tuesday that bulletproof vests do an adequate job of protecting.

“The technology is always changing,” said Newport Beach Police Sgt. Andy Gonis. “Some vests have plates that you can attach to protect the lower part of the body. The downside is that they can be more cumbersome. It’s going to be bulkier and there’s not going to be as much mobility.”

Orange Police Lt. Timm Browne said: “From a personal perspective, they are, at the very best, uncomfortable--particularly if it’s warm weather. They can be cumbersome if you sit in a car and you literally cannot bend if you wear one that is longer than your belt.”

Borgese said vests are designed to protect the upper torso area and usually are fitted to leave a little bit of space above an officer’s belt so the officer can sit comfortably.

“If it’s too long, it can push up into the neck areas. There has to be a certain degree of comfort,” he said.

Costa Mesa Police Training Officer Les Gogerty said that an undercover officer was injured after he was shot in the back last year in an area not protected by his vest.

“It was just one of those things,” Gogerty said. “You try to cover the vital areas and you would like to think that if something happened, it would protect you. But there’s always that possibility.”

“I’m sure there isn’t a policeman in his right mind who would say he wouldn’t want to be in a bulletproof bubble and be invincible,” Browne added. “The fact of the matter is, these vests have saved lives. By and large, they do provide a certain amount of protection.”

While all patrol officers on the Garden Grove force are required to wear a bulletproof vest while on duty, not all local law enforcement agencies have such a policy.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department and cities including Santa Ana and Anaheim provide vests for their officers and encourage that they wear them, but officers are not forced to.

“The department will buy you the best of everything if you want one,” said Santa Ana Sgt. Dick Faust. “It’s strongly recommended for the safety of officers.”