The Conversation at Lunch: Body Armor on the Shooting Range

Shakopee officers put on body armor before heading
to the range at the SCALE Regional Training Center.

Does your police department require everyone on the shooting range to wear body armor? That was the conversation at lunch at one of the recent loss control workshops. The answer for a number of officers at the table was “no.”

“It’s crazy that we don’t,” was one of the remarks. Another officer added: “It’s the one day you know you are going to be around gunfire.” While range officers and safety officers do everything they can to prevent accidental discharges and they very rarely happen, they still do happen. We also have officers injured when a bullet strikes something in the backstop and pieces of it ricochet back at the officers. It happens.

The discussion began to focus on why? Some thought that because many of the officers are off duty and in civilian clothes, that somehow translates into the idea that they don’t need their vest. But body armor and shooting ranges go together, just like body armor and uniforms go together. 

Body armor needs to be mandatory for everyone at the range, and it needs to be a policy. If it is not department policy, make it your policy. On that we had complete agreement!

Remember:

                                                    Responder Safety = Public Safety



Up next…More Conversation From the Workshops

In the meantime, stay safe and be careful.



Rob