Blue Sheepdog

In modern police work, virtually every uniform cop is wearing body armor under their shirt. In fact, when officers talk about bullet resistant clothing, they are almost always discussing bullet resistant vests. However, bullet resistant vests are not the only kind of body armor available.

Several companies are manufacturing bullet resistant jackets. This type of body armor is sometimes called a “ballistic jacket.”

Manufactured by several different companies in the United States and Israel, these jackets are designed to provide light protection against handgun rounds. Not all of these jackets are not tested using the same NIJ standards that normal body armor uses, so I would not expect them to offer the same level of protection. However, for the officer working a plain clothes detail, or a citizen with special concerns, these jackets may offer some protection when you would otherwise have none.

Some of the jackets, such as the bomber-style manufactured in Israel by Archidatex or this unknown brand jacket, claim protection up to NIJ III-A standards. I have no idea if any of these jackets have ever been NIJ tested.

It is also important for officers to be familiar with ballistic jackets because you may encounter a suspect wearing on. In November, Pittsburgh police officers encountered a suspect who was wearing one of these types of jackets. I don’t know if one of these jackets would stop a duty round, but I know it wouldn’t make your police ammo perform better!

Stay safe!