The Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office will be the first police agency any place to outfit its patrol cars with a new line of bulletproof panels manufactured in Kingston.
The company Armor Dynamics announced the partnership yesterday at its Kingston manufacturing facility. Sullivan Undersheriff Eric Chaboty said two of the sheriff’s patrol cars will be outfitted with the lightweight, bulletproof panels for a 90-day trial period. It will cost roughly $2,100 to outfit each car after the trial, he said.
The panels represent a new business venture for the growing Armor Dynamics. Since it began in 2004, the company has focused on United States military work, designing armor systems for ground vehicles in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now Armor Dynamics wants to build smaller but similar protection systems for police departments nationwide, CEO David Warren said.
The bulletproof panels are made of recycled, layered plastic composite. They’re roughly 1 inch thick and weigh 11 pounds per square foot. When a police car is no longer in use, the panels can be removed and re-installed into a new car.
Armor Dynamics has even designed a roll-down curtain that is bulletproof to protect against shots coming through a window.
Sullivan sheriff’s deputies tested the panels Oct. 2 by taking shots at a model door. They fired rifles and handguns at it. They shot .357, 9mm and 40-caliber bullets into the door. They even shot two rounds into the same hole.
A total of zero bullets penetrated the panel.
“I’m confident that as this product goes forward it will save someone’s life,” Sheriff Mike Schiff said.
Schiff became interested in safeguarding his department’s vehicles after a deputy was nearly shot in 2006 by a high-powered rifle bullet that traveled through the patrol car and lodged in his seat. Deputy Cyrus Barnes, who is now a detective, was responding to a domestic disturbance in Narrowsburg when a man fired the shot at him.
(Source: Times Herald Record / Photo: MidHudsonNews)
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4 Responses
I cerainly do hope that this WILL save lives. However, something doesn’t sound right with this story technically. All the calibers mentioned are HANDGUN calibers, NOT rifle calibers. The last paragraph says a deputy was almost hit by a high-powered rifle. To stop a high-powered rifle bullet, the only thing that will work (to the best of my knowledge), is a bullet-proof vest or panel, with a ceramic panel. This is what combat soldiers wear (when they can get them). The negative side of these vests is the weight. This article says they fired rifles AND handguns, but as I said they mentioned ONLY handgun caliber ammo. If this company has developed a bullet proof panel that will stop a high-powered rifle bullet WITHOUT using ceramic plates, THAT would be amazing, -but I am doubtful about the facts as presented.
Wouldn’t it make sense to do the trial in a place like jersey city camden nyc harlem a place where cop cars are actually shot at
I don’t remember an incident where a Sullivan county sherrif car was shot at
Then again maybe somebody knew somebody and worked out a deal
NOt quite correct. First, the article does say that they fired ‘rifles and handguns’ at the model door. Second, ’40 caliber’ is in fact a rifle caliber. Third, the limitations that you are referring to (meaning the without a ceramic panel, armor cannot stop a rifle bullet) is for the ‘ballistic armor’ made out of flexible cloth in bulletproof vests. This article is referring to rigid panels added inside the doors of the cars. If you pay attention, you will notice that they weigh 11 pounds per square foot!! That may not be so light, but the technological advance is that it is way lighter than steel, and being made of plastic, relatively cheap. and there is that environmental attraction that the plastic used is recyled!
Do they really need this in Sullivan County? Some Bungallow People getting very annoyed?