Arizona Police Association

PRESS RELEASE

Contact Person: Brian L. Livingston, Executive Director

Ph#: 602-319-5872, E-mail: brian@azpolice.org

APA – PR: 011-20

Available for Immediate Release

The Arizona Police Association Supports Attorney General on Ballistic Vest Issue

Phoenix, Arizona: The Arizona Police Association became aware of the questions being asked regarding the integrity of ballistic vests that contain the fabric/yarn called Zylon months ago. This fabric/yarn is produced by Toyobo Co., LTD in Japan and is distributed by many ballistic vest manufacturers in the United States. After becoming aware of these questions the APA Executive Director began extensive research on this material and its applications. Through this research we found that a recall of ballistic vests containing Zylon did occur in Germany in 2001. Additionally, testing at numerous testing facilities worldwide had discovered Zylon would deteriorate at an alarming rate when subjected to high temperatures (above 60 degrees C/104 degrees F) and a relative humidity of 80%. Arizona police officers commonly (almost daily) exceed these limits while protecting our communities. This alarming fact caused the association to ask for a meeting with the Attorney General on Monday, November 17, 2003. At this meeting the evidence of our investigation was turned over to the Attorney General. We were pleased to discover that the Attorney General’s office had a true understanding of the potential problem that our officers were facing.

We applaud and appreciate the leadership of the Attorney General on this issue. His recognition of the potential dangers to the law enforcement community demonstrates a true grasp of the day to day operations and dangers that police officers face. He also realizes that ballistic vest performance is an essential element in officer safety.

Most Arizona law enforcement officers purchase ballistic vests themselves but in some cases the individual police agencies purchase the ballistic vests for their officers. These vests are not inexpensive. The typically price range for these vests is from $450 to well over $1,000. The cost to replace these vests will be excessive to the individual officers and/or to their agencies.