Tuesday, February 8, 2005

Bulletproof vest 'fix' fails to meet standards, feds say

Associated Press

On the Net: National Institute of Justice: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij Second Chance Body Armor Inc.: http://www.secondchance.com Comment on this story Send this story to a friend Get Home Delivery

CENTRAL LAKE, Mich. - Panels designed to strengthen deteriorating material in bulletproof vests made by Second Chance Body Armor Inc. don't work at acceptable levels, according to a federal study.

The National Institute of Justice said Second Chance vest samples and "performance pac" inserts would not meet federal standards for new vests in all categories of soft body armor.

According to the institute, the research branch of the U.S. Department of Justice, Second Chance vests with inserts experienced "significant backface signatures" when shot during tests. In other words, the inward bulge created by the fired bullet was considered great enough to cause injury to the wearer.

More than 80,000 police officers nationwide are using the "performance pac" inserts in their vests, according to Central Lake-based Second Chance. The panels are designed to upgrade vests made with Zylon, a high-tech synthetic fiber woven into many of Second Chance's vests. Tests have indicated the material degrades with exposure to fluorescent light, heat and humidity.

Bullets also penetrated some of the insert panel-enhanced vests in the strongest soft body armor classification, the institute said.

But researchers said the vest inserts provide increased protection to used Zylon vests, so officers should continue using them rather than no body armor.

The finding was part of an interim report on a study of bulletproof vests ordered in 2003 by then-Attorney General John Ashcroft. He also asked the institute to study whether new protocols for rating and testing body armor are needed.

Much of the interim study focused on Second Chance vests because the company was the only maker of Zylon vests to offer the inserts. Research continues on the overall study.

Calls placed Friday and Monday to Second Chance officials were not returned, the Traverse City Record-Eagle reported.

Second Chance in September 2003 stopped making two vests that contained mostly Zylon. It offered the insert upgrade, a limited warranty and discounted replacement vest program.

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October, following more than a dozen lawsuits nationwide claiming it knowingly sold police officers defective vests. Second Chance officials deny that claim.