Video: Sheriff Johnson Advocates For Protective Gear

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LEE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) — Body armor can be a matter of life and death for law enforcement.

Protective gear is not mandatory at many departments but in Lee County, it is a must.

Lee County Sheriff Jim Johnson started requiring his deputies wear bullet proof vests when he took office in 2004.

“I’ve just seen bullet proof vests too many times save people’s lives. We have too many situations as recent as Corinth. We had a Sheriff here that was killed that very likely would have suffered a lot less situation if he had his vest on,” said Sheriff Johnson.

Lee County Sheriff’s Office has the highest level of protective vests.

Weighing 10 to 15 pounds, the vest is designed to stop a wide range of weapons.

“Where the damage comes in with the weapon is the penetration. Once it gets inside the internal organs and it begins to rip and tear with the lead and the lead separates, that’s where the damage comes in. Well, that’s what that vest prevents,” said Sheriff Johnson.

Right now, the department is testing out a new type of vest, which is less invasive but still protects.

“It’s hot in Mississippi and it’ll raise your body temperature probably 15 or 20 degree when you have one on. But with this new one and it goes on the outside, they’ll even last longer because you don’t have the elements of the body, the sweat and all that is deteriorating the surface of the vest,” said Sheriff Johnson.

Johnson says the price for protective gear has gone down recently.

He encourages all law enforcement agencies to buy the vests.

“Number one, get them at whatever cost it is. If you have to sacrifice something else, you need to make sure that your men and women are protected with this particular object. It, to me, is more important than any camera that you’ll ever buy or any equipment that you’ll ever buy,” added Sheriff Johnson.

This fall, the department will decide if they want to purchase the new vest or stay with the original design.

Many grants are offered for departments to purchase the vests.