http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2017/06/29/polic...ar-behind/

Quote:The I-Team has learned the officers assigned to the rally in downtown Dallas last July – where five officers were killed and nine wounded – were told not to wear certain heavy protective gear because it would make them look too “militaristic.”

“They were told not to wear their heavy gear,” which, if worn, may have “stopped some of those rounds,” Mike Mata, president of the Dallas Police Association, told the I-Team.

Mata, in an exclusive interview, said that, while all of the officers were believed to have been wearing standard-issued protective vests, many had with them better protective gear – stronger, thicker body armor and helmets – but had to keep them in their patrol vehicles.

“They didn’t want the police department to look militaristic to the community, look aggressive, incite any type of trouble,” he said.

For the same reasons, according to Mata, the officers were not allowed to “arm up” with powerful long rifles – a weapon much like the one Micah Johnson had when he ambushed them, marking one of deadliest attacks on law enforcement in history.

Quote:Mata told the I-Team the protective gear and rifles left in patrol vehicles that night may have saved lives and prevented severe injuries.

“A lot of those shots, and a lot of those wounds …were chest shots, lower abdomen wound shots, and those heavy vests would have covered them,” he said.

The officers’ inability to wear the additional gear has angered officers and their families, Mata said.

He said the widow of slain Officer Lorne Ahrens later gave her husband’s heavy vest – unused that night – to his partner.

Sounds like a lawsuit

Will anyone be fired for issuing the order? Will anyone even be held accountable for issuing the order? Will anyone at least apologize to the victims and their families for being grossly incompetent that they put the lives of their officers above appearances?

(07-07-2017 07:55 AM)LeFlâneur Wrote:  Will anyone be fired for issuing the order? Will anyone even be held accountable for issuing the order? Will anyone at least apologize to the victims and their families for being grossly incompetent that they put the lives of their officers above appearances?

Of course not.


One thing is for certain......we have several posters on here who should be pleased. Five officers lost their lives but at least when they died they didn't look scary. I mean the protection of the uparmored tactical vests likely would have stopped rounds from an SKS but who cares since it might hurt somebody's feelings.