Del Papa seeks funding for bulletproof vests

Friday, Feb. 27, 1998 | 10:21 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa has joined with her counterparts in 38 other states urging the U.S. Senate to supply anywhere from 50 to 100 percent of the money to buy bulletproof vests for police.

A bill before the Senate Judiciary Committee would give matching money to state, local and Indian tribal law enforcement agencies. Del Papa said the FBI estimates more than 30 percent of the nation's 1,182 officers killed by guns in the line of duty since 1980 could have been saved if they had been wearing body armor.

Police Chief David Mullin of Boulder City said he would welcome any federal funding because the vests usually cost about $500 and must be replaced every five years. "You don't want to get a cut rate on these," he said.

Mullin, president of the Nevada Sheriffs and Chiefs Association, said the vests are lifesavers.

"They not only help protect officers from attacks involving guns and knives, they have saved many officers from major injuries and death in traffic accidents," he said.

Mullin said all the patrol officers and detectives in his department wear bulletproof vests. He added he has been trying to get funding for the past two years to buy ones for the rest of the force but he has been unsuccessful.

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