Paul K. is a Trooper with the Utah Highway Patrol.
He has always made officer safety a priority in his career even when it might be inconvenient.
To that end, Paul has been an advocate for officers to wear body armor.
But, one day, Paul was planning to work an overtime shift where troopers worked in construction zones and sat there to ensure no one sped in the zone.
He didn’t want to wear his bulletproof vest because it would be uncomfortable, and he was attending his son’s football game before his shift.
But he decided to wear it since he was going straight to his overtime shift right after his son’s game.
“Ultimately I decided to wear my body armor, because of my ingrained training, even though I was going to be working a low-risk detail,” says Paul.
“There were two people on that shift with me that night who didn’t have their body armor on,” he added.
Around 2 a.m., Paul was sitting in his patrol car during the overtime shift when a car entered the construction zone and stopped next to him.
Paul exited his car and walked toward the driver of the stopped car.
He immediately smelled alcohol coming from the stopped vehicle.
Paul asked the 21-year-old driver to exit the vehicle.
Instead, the driver pulled a handgun and started shooting.
Paul fell backwards, landing on his hand, breaking it on impact.
As he fell, he drew his weapon and returned fire at the suspect.
Paul was hit by two rounds while on the ground, but he stayed in the fight.
He continued to shoot back, emptying his firearm and reloading.
Paul tried to get to his feet. But the suspect fired two more rounds at him, striking him in the back.
“The body armor stopped the bullets that should have entered my chest cavity or upper torso,” he says.
Paul fired two more rounds as the suspect drove away.
The man crashed his car a short distance away and killed himself.
There is no doubt that Paul’s vest saved his life that day – he was shot twice in the chest and torso and survived.
Now, many people consider adding a ballistic vest to their home defense and survival plan.
And as long as you have your fundamental bases covered, I think this is a fine idea.
If you are going to consider getting body armor, you should know the different ratings that ballistic vests offer.
The most common rating is the NIJ standards.
What is NIJ?:
The National Institute of Justice is a research and evaluation agency that is part of the Department of Justice.
The NIJ conducts scientific research and technology development for the criminal justice system.
Publicly, the NIJ is best known for rating standards for body armor.
For instance, you may have heard that some body armor is rated NIJ IIIA.
Recently, the NIJ updated its standards because of better testing methods, and new threats that those wearing body armor could face.
What are the old NIJ standards?:
The NIJ ballistic standards were designed to establish minimum performance requirements for ballistic armor.
Body armor manufacturers could voluntarily participate in having their products tested.
This gave consumers the comfort of knowing that the products were real and met specific standards.
With the old standards, body armor was divided into five categories.
Level IIA is rated to stop 9mm and .40 caliber bullets. Level II is rated to stop 9mm and .357 Magnum.
Level IIIA stops up to .357 and .44 Mag. Level III stops up to 7.62 NATO.
And Level IV is rated to stop up to .30 caliber and .40 caliber.
Why did NIJ change standards and ratings?:
One of the reasons that NIJ recently updated ratings is that you’ll notice certain calibers are missing.
For instance, the most popular rifle round in the U.S. is the .556, yet this round wasn’t listed in the NIJ ratings.
So, body armor is now tested for ballistic protection levels and stopping power.
According to the NIJ, the new protocols will create a better understanding for consumers.
Also, the way the testing is done has changed.
Now, body armor will be shot at several angles and in vulnerable areas such as the curves of the armor plates.
And with the updated standards, the NIJ has split ratings into two separate categories.
New ratings and standards:
The new ratings are more aligned with the threats people face.
HG1 body armor is rated for 9mm and .357 Mag.
HG2 is rated up to .44 Mag.
RF1 is rated up to 149-grain 7.62 NATO and 55-grain 5.56 NATO.
RF2 is rated up to 149-grain 7.62 NATO and 62-grain 5.56 NATO.
RF3 is up to 165 grain .30-06.
Should you buy new body armor?:
If you have body armor as part of your home defense plan, keep in mind that most body armor does have an expiration date.
So, if you have body armor be sure to check and ensure it’s not expired.
It will take time for companies to obtain certification for the latest standards.
If you are going to be buying body armor anytime soon, make sure you buy from a company that has been through NIJ testing and meets standards.
