History – Revisiting Old Lessons

There is that quote by George Santayana about those who do not remember history. Every so often, we see evidence of this happening – again. One example of this would be significant failures with safety equipment. I can think of three right now – a handgun manufactured overseas malfunctioned when a weapon-mounted light was attached, a domestically produced patrol car with post-crash fire issues, and body armor. In each case, there were significant differences in perspective between end users and the manufacturer. Are there lessons from those that could be applied to current and future events?

California

OPD Officer Tony Zeppetella was murdered during a traffic stop he made on a known street gang participant on Friday, June 13, 2003. As Zeppetella returned to his patrol car after the initial contact, the suspect shot him several times.  Zeppetella went down from one of the shots but returned fire, hitting the suspect once. The suspect approached the officer, took his handgun, and pistol-whipped him with it before shooting him again – fatally. What wasn’t known initially or mentioned in the ODMP summary was that his concealed body armor had failed during the event.

Pennsylvania

On 6/23/2003, Forest Hills, PA, narcotics officers were involved in a Buy-Bust operation. One officer, identified as Ed Limbacher, was hit twice by the suspect using a .40 caliber handgun out of four shots that were fired. One round struck the officer in the arm; the other penetrated his vest – well in from the edge – and entered his abdomen. He was wearing a level II vest made of all-woven Zylon from an armor company that is no longer in existence. The vest penetration came from a contact shot.

DOJ was able to test the rear panel of that vest. Their December 2004 report noted that they tested the Zylon fibers in that panel. They had 30% less strength than those in new, unused panels.

Only after word of the Limbacher shooting spread throughout law enforcement did we learn about the failure of Zeppetella’s vest. The common point between the two? Their concealed vests were both made from Zylon.

Fabrics

Historically, soft armor was made from woven p-aramid fabrics, such as Kevlar and Twaron. In the late 1990s, companies began designing, making, and certifying panels with HMWP (high molecular weight polyethylene), more commonly known as Spectra and SpectraFlex, among other names.

In 1998, Japan’s Toyobo released a fiber known commercially as Zylon. It had a tensile strength fifteen (15) times that of steel and was exceptionally light and flexible. Zylon was reported to have a 1200-degree F thermal resistance versus Kevlar’s 850-degree rating. That sounded like an incredible gift to police officers because of comfort, movement, and lighter weight – after years of some pretty thick designs.

Issues

Unfortunately, Zylon had two distinct weaknesses. It did not like being exposed to ultraviolet light for long periods, and humidity had an adverse effect on it.

In documentation from Toyobo, they saw “2) 65+% degradation in 100 hours under exposure to Xenon lights at 83C (181F) and significant degradation after minimal exposure to two 35-watt fluorescent lamps.” Toyobo publicly said Zylon lost strength from ongoing exposure to heat and humidity.

That type of lighting is widely used in many settings because they are powerful and bright while using relatively minimal power (35 watts). Exposures to that light would happen in factory settings.

In the same time frame, a European armor company tested Zylon for use in armor. Throughout its testing, it identified and documented similar concerns.

Threat Levels

At the time, body armor was covered under the National Institute of Justice’s (NIJ) Standard 0101-04. It allowed Level IIA vests (lower than II) and noted that would defeat lower velocity 9mm and .40S&W threats. However, Limbacher was wearing a Level II vest.

Back then, Level II vests were tested against a 124-grain 9mm full metal jacket round at 1175 fps and a 158-grain .357 Magnum jacketed soft point at 1400 fps. Level II was also supposed to stop any of the “lesser” threats.

While vests made from woven Zylon failed, other companies recognized the issues. Those companies mitigated the concerns by making armor packages that combined Zylon with other materials.

Testing

Numerous tests were conducted, with varying levels of formality. One police department in Washington saw multiple failures. I attended another at a San Francisco Bay Area agency; we saw multiple vest penetrations during that event.

Aftermath

Within a year, agencies began pulling Zylon vests from use. By November 2003, the now-defunct armor company advertised three options for officers and agencies with their Zylon vests. First, they could take an upgraded woven aramid ballistic performance pack designed to be added to the existing panels. Second, they could accept a credit towards the purchase of another vest model made from a woven aramid. Finally, they could buy one of those aramid vests outright “minimal cost.”

In September 2005, the FBI developed its body armor standard that added contact shots and environmental testing.

That year, NIJ de-certified Zylon for use.

NIJ developed new standards that include environmental testing while addressing panel sizes and edge hits.

The current body armor standard is 0101.07, with new designations for handgun and rifle-rated armor.

Other Concerns

When factual information could be difficult to obtain, one standout was Dr Aaron Westrick, an employee of the now-defunct armor company. He came forward as a whistle-blower, providing significant insider information that aided in identifying the issues.

Simultaneously, at least one armor company was filing internal affairs complaints against officers publicly sharing information on the issue.

Final Thoughts

There are times when the equipment we depend on to save our lives may not work as intended. When that happens, the profession needs to accept it and move on to other products. We have been down this road before.

 

REFERENCES

Croen Victoria concerns

New NIJ Armor Standard