We have been tracking the Forest Hills, PA incident since it occurred last Monday night. Firstly, we are pleased to report that the officer is recovering well and we are still anxiously awaiting forensics results that might determine exactly what happened.
What we do know is that the front panel of the Ultima level 2A was penetrated by an unknown .40 caliber projectile. The bullet is still inside the officer. The vest was manufactured in December of 2002 and issued in January of 2003.
At this point, we do not know the velocity at which the round was traveling, or the construction of that particular bullet.
Second Chance Body Armor has saved over 900 lives of which 32 have been saved by Ultima technology (7th, 8th and 9th generations). Of those 32 saves, we have 9 saved in firearm assaults and three more pending investigation and confirmation. Calibers range from .22 caliber to .357 Magnum. As you know, body armor is bullet resistant (or stab resistant or resistant to a broad array of threats to police officers including vehicular accidents). The NIJ establishes a voluntary standard or performance for each threat level. Only two test rounds are used for each threat level.
Second Chance Body Armor, with ISO 9001 registration, assures that every lot of ballistic raw material received meets the minimum performance requirements defined by our Critical Material Specification established during the original certification of that particular vest model to ensure that every vest shipped from Second Chance meets or exceeds the performance level established during the original certification.
Second Chance Body Armor continues to save lives with products that meet and sometimes exceed the industry’'s minimum performance requirements while maximizing wearability.
Mark Pickett
Group VP
Global Sales and Marketing
Second Chance Body Armor, Inc.
Central Lake, Michigan
800-253-7090