Survivors' Club®
CLUB GOALS:
1. To reduce death and disability by encouraging increased wearing of personal body armor.
2. To recognize and honor those deserving individuals who, as a result of wearing personal body armor, have survived a life-threatening or life-disabling incident.
3. To serve the law enforcement community by collecting this important data and sharing valuable information relating to these survivor incidents.
WHY A SURVIVORS' CLUB®?
A study funded by Du Pont and supported by IACP found that most police officers are aware of their continual exposure to personal danger and that the wearing of soft body armor can provide a degree of safety from serious injury and death. For the most part, police officers are aware of the positive reasons for wearing soft body armor.
On the other hand, a number of negative reasons contribute to a low wear rate. Some of these reasons are easy to understand – personal discomfort due to the weight and bulk, retention of body heat during hot summer days, and difficulties in obtaining a good fit, especially among female officers. However, many of the negative reasons are irrational and often based on erroneous information. Some officers thought they could die from the blunt trauma that occurs when the vest dissipates the energy of the blow. Another element of faulty information was the belief that body perspiration would significantly diminish the effectiveness of soft body armor. Information provided by the Survivors' Club® will begin to correct this misinformation, and provide the law enforcement community with the factual information it needs to increase officer safety.
Throughout the study, it became evident that whenever a police officer is shot or a life is saved by a vest, the wearing of vests increases for a period of time. The Survivors' Club® fosters this attitude and provides local police departments with useful information and the opportunity to reinforce the importance of wearing soft body armor.
The Survivors' Club® collects useful and important data to be shared among the police community. The nomination form will contain 10 categories:
I. Agency type and population group
II. Information about the officer, such as sex, build, assignment, dress, etc.
III. Information about the body armor.
IV. Details regarding the life-threatening incident, such as when it occurred, and the activity leading to the incident.
V. Characteristics identifying the suspect, such as criminal history, use of alcohol or drugs and mental state.
VI. Specific details on the weapon, including the distance involved and number of shots.
VII. Details about the injuries.
VIII. Training courses attended by the officers.
IX. Unusual and notable circumstances.
X. Official nomination to the Survivors' Club®, to be made by the agency with the saved officer's permission.
The information collected will be summarized and analyzed to determine causes and countermeasures for assaults on police officers. This information will become valuable when planning manpower deployment.
LOCAL DEPARTMENT'S ROLE
For the program to provide the information that can effectively reduce the number of assaults on police officers, it is important for the local police department to take simple but active steps in the Survivors' Club®. The following steps are important:
1. Notify the club of saves.
2. Complete the assault/accident report.
3. Nominate the officer.
4. Present the awards to the officer.
The Survivors' Club® has been designed to ensure maximum local control. In all cases, we hope to obtain information about the assault/accident that will be helpful to the entire law enforcement community when planning strategies to avoid future incidents. The report form provides for nominating the officer to the Survivors' Club®; however, if the department decides the officer does not deserve Survivors' Club® award, then the agency can decline to nominate him at the end of the report. Nationally, what is important is collecting a broad database.
The local agency can decide how to present the award to the officer. The presentation, whenever possible, should be used to reinforce the need to wear body armor and to foster the relationship between the department's management and the operational units. The presentation could run from a private presentation to a major award ceremony.
WHO QUALIFIES FOR THE SURVIVORS' CLUB®?
To become a member of the IACP/Du Pont KEVLAR Survivors' Club®, the officer must have survived a potentially life-threatening incident because of the use of personal body armor. The types of incidents that qualify a candidate for membership include firearm assaults and attacks with knives, clubs, chains and other weapons. Also included are accidents such as car crashes, motorcycle spills, fires and explosions. Whenever and wherever personal body armor was instrumental in saving lives or preventing serious injuries on- or off-duty, the law enforcement officer involved is eligible to become a member of the club. Any brand of body armor or ballistic material is acceptable for consideration. International participation is encouraged.
HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS
Following the receipt of an application or report of the incident, club candidates are nominated by the chief/supervisor and then verified by the club administrator to ensure that the facts of the case qualify them for membership. Upon acceptance into the club, new members will receive recognition by the IACP and Du Pont in the form of a membership plaque, lapel pin, tie tack and locket/charm for the spouse or female officer's emblems and a complimentary subscription to Police Chief magazine. Club members will be awarded their personalized mementos through their departments. A videotape designed to encourage use of personal body armor will also be presented to each department for department-wide training efforts.
For more information about the club, please contact Brad Eaton, Club Administrator, IACP/Du Pont Kevlar Survivors' Club®, 5401 Jefferson Davis Highway, Richmond, VA 23234; 804-383-3853; 800-441-2746; fax: 804-383-2477.
POLICE CHIEF COLUMN
This column is dedicated to sharing the experience of those survivors, in hopes of persuading others to wear their armor. If body armor has helped you or a member of your department survive such an accident or assault, please contact Anna Knight.
Polish Officer Survives Firearm Assault
On June 23, 1997, while serving in a three-man unit providing bank security for a cash convoy in Kielce, Poland, Detective Dariusz Pac was saved from a potentially fatal gunshot wound by his protective vest. As the security vehicle stopped in front of the bank and security personnel got out to check the area, an individual who had concealed himself behind a pillar suddenly ran towards the vehicle and aimed his handgun at Pac, demanding the money. When Pac refused, the thief fired his pistol. Fortunately, the detective was able to strike the gunman's hand, changing the direction of the barrel-and thus the bullet-as the weapon discharged. The bullet struck Detective Pac's torso, which was protected by his ballistic vest. The gunman fired a second shot at one of the officers in the rear of the security vehicle, but missed him entirely.
Although the subject fled the area before he could be arrested, he was later taken into custody and charged with assault with intent to kill. Pac was treated for severe bruises and released, with no hospitalization required.
We welcome Detective Pac into the Survivors' Club and commend him not only for his outstanding performance but also for his decision to protect himself and his coworkers by wearing his ballistic vest. We extend our appreciation to his management, as well as the European DuPont representative, for bringing this matter to our attention and helping us to authenticate this event.