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February 8, 2015- By Steven E. Greer, MD
Last December, I sent an email to the top brass in the city and local politics telling them that the bullet proof vests the cops wear are poorly designed (I have treated lots of gunshot wound patents in the trauma bay. Trauma surgeons know the weak spots of these devices that result in deadly hits, such as exposed lateral shots to the axilla). I asked them why more modern vests had not been purchased. The NYPD seems to have every other gadget and million-dollar vehicle, but not this crucial inexpensive device?
A week or so after that, it was in the news that Commissioner Bratton was requesting money for new vests. Today, the Post reports, “City officials said Friday they are dedicating $7.3 million for bulletproof vests that Police Commissioner Bratton hailed as the “Rolls-Royce” of all the models — and they’re not waiting until next year to do it.
After months of tense relations between the police unions and City Hall, Mayor de Blasio and City Council Speaker Mark-Viverito committed to fast-tracking the purchase of 13,000 vests in the current fiscal year’s budget.”