Bullet-Vest Demo | Video

Alex Hagan | 9/13/2012

Officers on the street need protection when they are out on patrol, including firearms and safety gear. Bullet-Resistant Vests can be the difference between life and death. Thursday morning, several officers watched a graphic demonstration of what those vests do.

Even from close range, a bullet-resistant vest can keep a police officer alive. Law enforcement wear these vests while on duty and might not give it much more thought.

"Law enforcement officers, we come to work, we grab our gear, we get our uniforms, we put our vests on without the total understanding of how that vest is designed and how it`s intended to stop those bullets from going through the vests," said Bismarck police Deputy Chief Dan Donlin.

That`s why officers came out to see how the vests can protect them.

"It`s really interesting to see what the shells and what the actual result of the bullet is when it penetrates the vest or hits the vest," said Sgt. Kyle Kirchmeier with the North Dakota Highway Patrol.

The demonstration involves using different levels of ballistic armor KDH Defense Systems distributes along with what kind of effect bullets can have on them.

"If they were in contact with an assailant and they were going to be shot, what the vest will do in reaction to the different rounds of bullets are shot at them," said Paul Larkin with KDH Defense Systems.

But the most important part of the demonstration wasn`t how the vests work, but what they can do for an officer.

"Making sure that the vest that they`re currently wearing stops the bullet in the gun that they`re carrying on duty," Larkin said.

And law enforcement know the importance of wearing protective gear everyday.

"It shows that you know, from the manufacturers that are making these vests and putting the effort into it, that it is well worth it and it saves officers lives," Kirchmeier said.

The officers might have experience wearing the vests, but now they know how much of a difference wearing the gear can make on the job.

KDH says it is important to understand that vests are not bullet proof, but bullet resistant.

Officers from Bismarck, Burleigh County, the Tactical Team and the highway patrol attended the demonstration.

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