Lafayette’s police force is now equipped with active shooter kits — gear that more departments are considering funding for as mass shootings become a seemingly routine American experience.
Lafayette Police Chief Rick Bashor on Tuesday unveiled the kit: a ballistic helmet and vest containing two ceramic plates on both the front and back. The outfit also comes equipped with wound trauma kits.
The idea is to stop shots from long-rifles — the weapon of choice among many mass shooters in recent years — Bashor said.
“In the front and back of outfits is a trauma plate — that’s where you get all your weight,” he told city leaders on Tuesday. “They’re designed to stop a rifle round, whereas the vests that we wear (on a typical shift) can only stop some handgun rounds.”
The price tag to equip the department’s 44 officers with the kits comes to nearly $49,000, according Cmdr. Brian Rosipajla.
Read more at .
