Durango Police Department received a gift this week it hopes to never use.
Shield 616, a nonprofit organization based in Colorado Springs that provides all-day rifle protection for first responders, donated $10,000 worth of ballistic plates to the police department, a total of 12 high-tech ceramic ballistic plates designed to protect first responders from the threat of an active shooter with an assault rifle, said Chris Brown, director of operations for Shield 616.
Shield 616 has donated more than 3,500 ballistic plates to agencies in 14 states, Brown said.
Very few calls to law enforcement involve an active shooter with a rifle, Brown said, so many law enforcement agencies cannot justify purchasing rifle-proof vest plates. But it’s better to have the equipment and not need it than to need it and not have it, he said.
“It’s really hard to justify an extremely expensive piece of equipment that may not be used ever,” Brown said. “But you track the events across the county, it’s becoming more common.”
The funding behind the donation came from Renewal by Andersen, a Denver-based window and patio door manufacturer.
“For each Renewal by Andersen window installed, $5 supports the Window of Giving program, providing paid volunteer time, ‘wish list’ donations, grant funding and sponsorships,” wrote Betty Shea, Renewal by Andersen Window of Giving Program manager, in an email to The Durango Herald. “Helping police officers return home safely to their families at the end of their shift aligns with our belief of turning ‘love into action,’” she said.
Durango police Cmdr. Ray Shupe said each Durango police officer is equipped with a bulletproof vest strong enough to stop a bullet from a handgun but not a rifle. Brown said a man with an AK-47, which fires bullets at 2,350 feet-per-second, shot an officer wearing a typical bulletproof vest in 2015 in Colorado Springs. The round punctured the vest and hit the officer’s heart, Brown said.
The new rifle-proof ballistic plates are light and fit in standard-issue DPD bullet-proof vests, Shupe said. The plates are rated to stop a .223 Remington round, which can travel at speeds up to 3,400 feet per second.
“We face that threat on the street with larger capacity and higher power weapons – it’s more prevalent now,” Shupe said. “We’re just trying to protect our officers from what they might be facing.”
bhauff@durangoherald.com