Reid, Ensign both like bulletproof vests

Tuesday, June 16, 1998 | 4:28 a.m.

Reid, an original cosponsor of the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Act, said the measure President Clinton signed into law Tuesday will make at least $125,000 available annually to help Nevada law officers purchase new or replacement vests.

"This new law will help our busier metropolitan police forces replace vests and help smaller jurisdictions purchase vests for the first time ever," said Reid, who attended the formal bill signing ceremony at the White House.

"Right now, many Nevada officers are forced to spend their own funds for body armor," the senator said in a statement released by his office in Washington. He said the $125,000 averages out to about 500 vests a year.

Ensign, the front-runner in a GOP primary to face Reid this fall, cosponsored the House version of the bill Clinton signed. Their race is expected to be one of the most hotly contested in the nation.

"Our streets are increasingly dangerous for the men and women we trust to protect us from society's most ruthless criminals," Ensign said Tuesday.

"Bulletproof vests will save lives and hopefully serve as a deterrent to those willing to fire a deadly weapon at a police officer," he said in a statement released by his office in Washington.

Nevada Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa said the vests are lifesavers.

"Not only to they help protect officers from injuries from guns and knives, but I have been told that they have saved many officers from injuries from major injuries or death in traffice accidents," she said.

Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., also praised the move.

"To supply bulletproof vests for every officer in Nevada is to take a great step forward in our efforts to protect people who protect us," he said.