SECOND Chance Body Armour, producers of the ballistic body armour worn by local police officers, on Thursday defended the quality of its product as the best in the world but said its effectiveness was limited to its design.

The company also told a press conference that the vests are made to the specifications of the Jamaica Constabulary force (JCF), based on the type of guns they identify as likely to be used as weapons against them.

Terry Hand, vice-president of Second Chance, says the vests worn by just over 70 per cent of the police force are built according to the threat level defined by the JCF.

“At some stage there may be a bullet which will penetrate that vest. The best example I can give you is Sergeant (Kevon Chambers), who was wearing a soft body armour and was shot three times with a high velocity rifle,” said Hand.

“That body armour was never designed (for) nor capable of stopping a high-velocity rifle.”

Hand was speaking at a press conference called by the Constabulary Communications Network (CCN) on Thursday at the Medallion Hall Hotel in Kingston, to reassure the media and police officers that the vests were safe.

According to CCN spokesperson Superintendent Ionie Ramsay-Nelson, there have been “numerous calls” from members of the media about the vests and their effectiveness, in light of recent shooting incidents involving the slaying or injuring of policemen.

The first shooting took place around August this year, involving Corporal Warren Smith, who was killed while on patrol with a colleague in Central Village. Corporal Smith was not wearing his vest.

Months later another police officer was killed while on patrol in Duhaney Park and his colleague seriously injured.

The slain officer was not wearing a vest, however the injured officer, Kevon Chambers was. He received three shots in his upper body and one in his leg from an AK-47 rifle.

The shootings fuelled criticisms that the vests were unsafe. In August, Police Commissioner Francis Forbes publicly defended the integrity of the vests and urged officers to wear them.

The police high command also responded to the criticisms by issuing an invitation, through its Force Orders of September 16, requesting persons who knew where better vests could be sourced to come forward.

No one has responded to the invitation so far, according to Supt Ramsay-Nelson.

At the press conference, Chambers, who was present, removed his shirt to show the scars from the bullet wounds which would have been fatal without the vest, even though it was not built for that calibre rifle.

“Normally, soft body armour will not stop a high-velocity weapon. Without the hard armour plate you only have protection against handguns,” said Hand.

He explained that body armours are built with varying levels of protection but the vests are equipped to take hard armour plates against high-powered weapons.

Second Chance is one of three biggest body armour manufacturers in the world. Its armours are used by American soldiers in Iraqi.

The company, which is based in Michigan, has the highest record of lives saved. Since it was established in 1971, there have been more than 936 recorded saves worldwide, five of them Jamaican police officers.

Over the last two years a number of lawsuits were filed against the company by individuals in the United States who claimed that the company’s Zylon vests degraded before its stated warranty period.

Overwhelmed by the financial strain of the litigation, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October this year. It has since taken legal action against the Zylon fibre manufacturer, Toyobo Corporation of Japan.

Jamaica does not use Zylon vests. The JCF vests are made from twaron, with a dual function of ballistic protection against handguns as well as protection against sharp, pointed instruments such as knives or ice picks.

Email: evansv@jamaicaobserver.com