A little over a decade ago, Officer Ann Carrizales of the Stafford Police Department in Fort Bend County, Texas, was shot in the face and chest at extremely close range by a suspect she was pursuing. Fortunately, Officer Carrizales’ personally fitted body armor saved her life, although she sustained serious injuries that later required surgery.
However, thanks to her vest, she was able to continue the chase, apprehend the suspect, and eventually return home safely to her husband and children.1
Life-altering events like Officer Carrizales’ experience remind me why the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) works so diligently to create body armor standards—why we run a comprehensive and rigorous body armor testing program and produce a publicly available list of every product tested that is compliant with current standards.
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