Police eye new bulletproof vests

Police throughout Nevada may no longer have to hold on to their aging bulletproof vests years beyond the manufacturer's suggested lifespan because of a new law that had been pushed by Nevada lawmakers, a local police chief says.

"One problem has been that the manufacturer's suggested life expectancy of a vest is five years, but some officers, especially those in small communities where budgets are tighter, have had to maintain them for eight years," Boulder City Police Chief David Mullin said.

Mullin, president of the Nevada Sheriffs and Chiefs Association, who organized support statewide for the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Act, signed into law Tuesday by President Clinton, said over time a vest's effectiveness is diminished by heat, sweat and repeated machine washings.

"This law will mean about 500 new vests a year for 3,000 officers statewide," Mullin said, indicating that without having to raise other funds, bulletproof vests can now be replaced every six years for all Nevada officers.

"In some small communities, officers now have to buy the vests with their own money," Mullin said. "That situation could change under this law."

The bill was sponsored by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Rep. John Ensign, R-Nev, the front-runner in a GOP primary to face Reid this fall, cosponsored the House version of the bill Clinton signed. Their race is expected to be one of the most hotly contested in the nation. The companion House bill also was co-sponsored by Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev.

The bill authorizes $25 million for a 50 percent matching grant program within the Department of Justice to help state and local law enforcement agencies purchase body armor. The bill will make $125,000 a year available for Nevada law enforcement officials to buy new vests and replace old ones.

"It is a sad state of affairs when criminals are better protected on our streets than law enforcement officials," Reid said. "We cannot allow criminals to have the upper hand."

Nevada Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa said the vests are lifesavers.

"Not only do they help protect officers from injuries from guns and knives, but I have been told they have saved many officers from major injuries or deaths in traffic accidents," she said.

Ensign said: "Our streets are increasingly dangerous for the men and women we trust to protect us from society's most ruthless criminals. Bulletproof vests will save lives and hopefully serve as a deterrent to those willing to fire a deadly weapon at a police officer.

Gibbons said: "To supply bulletproof vests for every officer in Nevada is to take a great step forward in our efforts to protect people who protect us."

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS contributed to this report.

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