Chuck Canterbury, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, welcomed the results in a procedural vote on the Senate floor, which voted to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to debate on H.R. 980, the “Public Employee-Employer Cooperation Act.”

“This afternoon’s vote was a significant victory for the FOP,” Canterbury said.  “While we must keep in mind this was a procedural vote that simply allows debate on the bill to begin, the large margin of victory here sends a strong message to those who are trying to prevent the bill from getting an up-or-down vote.”

The legislation, which is championed in the Senate by Senators Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), Chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) and Judd Gregg (R-NH), would would recognize the fundamental right of public safety employees to form and join unions and bargain collectively with their employers over wages, hours, and working conditions without undermining existing State collective bargaining laws.   The legislation does not require binding arbitration, protects existing right-to-work laws, and specifically prohibits strikes and lockouts.  The bill was passed by the House last July on a 314-97 vote after being favorably reported by the House Committee Education and Labor in June on a 42-1 vote.

“The FOP and our friends at the International Association of Fire Fighters have been working to pass this legislation for more than a decade,” Canterbury said.  “Because of our joint efforts and our bipartisan approach, we scored an important tactical victory this afternoon in our efforts to improve the lives of our members and the safety of the public they protect.”

Canterbury dismissed the arguments of some Senators and Administration officials, who claim that recognizing the rights of public safety officers to bargain collectively would “dangerously reduce” the ability of State and local public safety officers to respond to emergencies.

“As law enforcement officers, we take our oath and commitment to protect and serve very seriously, so it is deeply offensive to suggest that the men and women who put their lives on the line every day would use emergency response as a bargaining chip,” Canterbury said.  “Virtually every public safety agency that responded to the attacks on the United States in 2001 were covered by collective bargaining agreements and no one would suggest that those agreements at all impeded the ability of the managers and employees to work together during those dark and difficult days.”

The Senate will begin debate on the measure this afternoon, and more votes are expected this week.

“Public safety occupations are unique, and their labor relations need to reflect that.  In our line of work, the bottom line is the safety of the public and of the officer,” Canterbury said.  “This means that the ability to sit down and talk with your employer is absolutely critical, because the issues on the table are not limited to wages and hours, but also encompass issues of officer safety, the efficiency of emergency response, and preparedness for critical incidents.”

The Fraternal Order of Police is the largest law enforcement labor organization in the United States, with more than 325,000 members.

 

Posted 4/3/08

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children – TAKE 25

 
On behalf of the National Fraternal Order of Police, I would like to present the 2008 Take 25 campaign.  Take 25 is a preventative child safety campaign that our office is promoting in partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).  NCMEC’s mission is to help prevent child abduction and sexual exploitation, aid in the recovery of missing children, and assist children who have been victimized.
 
In 1983, President Ronald Reagan declared May 25^th to be National Missing Children’s Day and each Administration since has honored this day as an annual reminder to make child protection a national priority.  In May 2007, NCMEC launched Take 25, a nationwide grassroots initiative designed to call attention to common dangers posed to children.  Take 25 encourages parents, guardians, educators, and other concerned citizens to Take 25 minutes to talk with their children about ways to stay safer and encourages an ongoing dialogue about safety.
 
During its inaugural year in 2007, with the help of more than 100 local and national partners including the National FOP, the U.S. Secret Service, the National Parent Teachers Association, and the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, 375 Take 25 events were held throughout the month of May.  Events were held in 300 communities across the United States and abroad.  With the help of the Take 25 partner organizations and their members, NCMEC has reached children across the country with invaluable and potentially life-saving advice and will continue to do so for years to come. 
 
Again this year, we are asking each lodge to participate in the Take 25 campaign.  Lodges can get involved in a number of ways; they can organize community rallies, host safety awareness and child identification events, or distribute Take 25 child safety materials.  All materials, including Child ID kits, will be provided by NCMEC free of charge.  Please register your lodge event location and details with the NCMEC at their website (www.take25.org) and you may request your free materials there.  Planning literature is available for download from the NCMEC website that will assist you in organizing your event.  Please contact Adam Zubowsky, Legislative Liaison, at the National Legislative Office at azubowsky@fop.net if you are interested in participating or if you have any further questions.
 
 

Posted 12/29/07

IRS Finally Issues New Guidance on HELPS
The Healthcare Enhancement for Local Public Safety (HELPS) Retirees Act, which was enacted in Section 845 of H.R. 4/PL 109-280, the Pension Protection Act, provision provides a modest tax benefit to retired public safety officers to pay for health care by allowing the use, on a pretax basis, of up to $3,000 annually from their pension funds (including defined benefit plans and defined contribution plans) to pay for premiums on health care and long-term care insurance.  The law went into effect on 1 January 2007.  However, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued guidance in February 2007 which defined “accident or health insurance plan” in a very restrictive manner and excluded “self-insured” plans.  As a result, this important tax benefit was initially unavailable to a significant number of retired public safety officers who would otherwise be entitled to receive it. 

At the request of the FOP and other stakeholder groups, the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance sent a joint letter to the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Department of the Treasury communicating the intent of Congress with respect to the HELPS Retirees Act and requested that the guidance be changed.  In May 2007, the U.S. Department of the Treasury responded to that request in a letter to Congress indicating that the IRS will amend their guidance in such a way as to include self-insured plans as eligible under the HELPS Retirees Act.  Following the transmission of this letter, self-insured plans which were previously ineligible became eligible, allowing our members can begin to take advantage of the benefit provided by the HELPS Retirees Act.

On 24 December 2007, the IRS formally issued an amendment to their original guidance with respect to their interpretation of the term “accident or health insurance plan” that is consistent with the original intent of the Act and the information provided by the Treasury Department in May.  A copy of the amendment to the guidance can be found here: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/notice2007-99.end.pdf and a link to this document, as well as an updated version of the FAQ on the HELPS provision can be found on the Legislative page of the Grand Lodge's website.

Members with questions should contact the National Legislative Office in Washington.
 

 
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AMENDMENT WITHDRAWN
Regrettably, Senators Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and Judd Gregg (R-NH) had to withdraw the collective bargaining amendment (S. Amdt. 3830) from consideration.  No vote will be held.

The Kennedy-Gregg Amendment, like most amendments to the Farm bill that were considered on the floor this week, required a sixty (60) margin to pass.  We had more than the 60 we needed to pass the amendment, however, the timing of the final debate among the Democratic Presidential candidates held in Iowa yesterday cost us four (4) votes in favor of the bill.  We would have had to "flip" two (2) Republican Senators to prevail or reach a unanimous consent agreement to vote on our amendment at a time when we knew that those Senators campaigning for President in Iowa would be back in the Senate.

Senators Michael B. Enzi (R-WY), Ranking Member of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), and Jim DeMint (R-SC), took advantage of this absence and would have blocked the agreement to hold the vote at a time certain by offering hostile "second degree" amendments.  This obstacle, combined with bad weather in the center of country, precluded any definitive plans of the four Senators campaigning in Iowa from committing to return to the Senate for votes on Friday or even Saturday.

Ultimately, we opted to withdraw the amendment from consideration rather than hold a series of debates and votes on second degree amendments without knowing for certain that we could get 60 votes for our amendment, or even if the Farm bill itself would eventually pass.

FOP members should take some time and thank Senators Kennedy, Gregg, and Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE), one of the Senators in Iowa who committed to return if the vote were held, for all of their efforts in support of the amendment.  They were very committed to getting this to a vote this week, and they should know their efforts were sincerely appreciated.

On behalf of National President Canterbury and the staff at the National Legislative Office, I do want to thank all the members of the Grassroots Action Network who took the time out to contact their Senators--especially those who had been specifically targeted--all this week.  Those calls did make a difference.

It is important to remember that we do have the votes to pass this bill and to defeat a filibuster.  Unfortunately, the timing of the Iowa debate and the difficult weather conditions interfered with the ability to deliver those votes.  We anticipate that, when Congress reconvenes next year, we will be in a position to move ahead with a vote on our legislation.

Thank you again for your help on this critical legislative issue and best wishes to you and your families for the holiday season.

 

We Need Your Help!!!

The Senate will hold a vote on our collective bargaining amendment, S. Amdt. 3830, either this evening or early tomorrow morning.  WE NEED 60 VOTES FOR THE AMENDMENT TO PASS AND EVERY VOTE COUNTS!!!

The amendment (S. Amdt. 3830) is identical to the Senate version of the collective bargaining bill and has been offered by Senators Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and Judd Gregg (R-NH).

CALL FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION:
WE NEED 60 VOTES!!!

All FOP members should call their Senators at their Washington offices (or through the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121) and urge them to vote in favor of the Kennedy-Gregg Amendment (S. Amdt. 3830) to the Farm bill!!!

The organizations who opposes the bill are already hard at work using their phone banks to tell YOUR Senators to vote against the amendment.  We NEED to counteract this--call your Senators today!!!

When making contact with your Senators, use the following talking points to explain why this legislation is so important to law enforcement officers:

• What the bill does: The legislation recognizes the right of public safety employees to form and join a labor organization and to bargain over hours, wages, and the terms and conditions of employment.  The specifically prohibits lockouts and strikes, and also protects State laws--including right-to-work laws--that provide equal or greater collective bargaining rights than those outlined in the bill.
•  The bill passed the House by a wide margin earlier this year and has bipartisan support in the Senate.  In July 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives considered and passed a nearly identical measure, H.R. 980, the "Public Employer-Employee Cooperation Act," under a suspension of the rules on a 314-97 vote.  The Senate version of the bill, S. 2123, which is identical to the amendment being offered to the Farm bill, has twenty-six (26) cosponsors.

If any of the Senator's staff that you speak with have additional questions about the legislation, tell them to contact Tim Richardson at in the FOP's National Legislative Office at 202-547-8189.


This is our chance to pass the collective bargaining bill!!!  We need ALLFOP members to CONTACT THEIR SENATORS IN THEIR WASHINGTON, D.C. OFFICE NOW AND ASK THEM TO VOTE IN FAVOR OF S. Amdt. 3830 to the Farm Bill!!!
 

Posted 12/12/07

LEGISLATIVE ALERT:
There has been a change in the sponsor and amendment of our collective bargaining bill.  The new amendment is S. Amdt. 3830 and it will be offered to the Farm Bill (H.R. 2419) this week!!!

The amendment (S. Amdt. 3830) is identical to the Senate version of the collective bargaining bill and it will be offered by Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Judd Gregg (R-NH), and Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA).

CALL FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION:
All FOP members should call their Senators at their Washington offices (or through the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121) and urge them to vote in favor of the Harkin-Gregg-Kennedy Amendment (S. Amdt. 3830) to the Farm bill!!!

The organizations who opposes the bill are already hard at work using their phone banks to tell their Senatros to vote against the amendment.  We NEED to counteract this--call your Senators today!!!

When making contact with your Senators, use the following talking points to explain why this legislation is so important to law enforcement officers:

• What the bill does: The legislation recognizes the right of public safety employees to form and join a labor organization and to bargain over hours, wages, and the terms and conditions of employment.  The specifically prohibits lockouts and strikes, and also protects State laws--including right-to-work laws--that provide equal or greater collective bargaining rights than those outlined in the bill.
•  The bill passed the House by a wide margin earlier this year and has bipartisan support in the Senate.  In July 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives considered and passed a nearly identical measure, H.R. 980, the "Public Employer-Employee Cooperation Act," under a suspension of the rules on a 314-97 vote.  The Senate version of the bill, S. 2123, which is identical to the amendment being offered to the Farm bill, has twenty-six (26) cosponsors.

If any of the Senator's staff that you speak with have additional questions about the legislation, tell them to contact Tim Richardson at in the FOP's National Legislative Office at 202-547-8189.


This is our chance to pass the collective bargaining bill!!!  The National Legislative Office will be sending out additional LEGISLATIVE ALERTS as necessary,  but we need all FOP members to CONTACT THEIR SENATORS IN THEIR WASHINGTON, D.C. OFFICE NOW AND ASK THEM TO VOTE IN FAVOR OF S. Amdt. 3830 to the Farm Bill!!!
 

Below are the written responses from 8 of the 9 candidates running for the Henrico County Board of Supervisor positions. 

   James Donati
   Dick Glover
   Reese Haller
   David Kaechele
   Rick Kirkland
   George Marchenko
   Patricia O'Bannon
   Frank Thornton

Finding Loved Ones: Louisiana F.O.P. Helps to Get Messages to Officers

Chuck Canterbury, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, announced today that the Louisiana State F.O.P. Lodge would be launching a message service program to help family members locate and get messages to law enforcement officers working in the State of Louisiana.

“Communications are still in disarray and in many cases, these officers may not have had the means or the time to contact their family members and let them know they are safe,” Canterbury said.  “The Louisiana State Lodge has volunteered to locate and get messages to officers working in their State.”

Family members of law enforcement officers working in the State of Louisiana can call the Louisiana State Lodge at 877-LASTFOP (527-8367).  The family member(s) need to know the name of the officer’s agency and, if possible, in what district the officer is working, or most recent work assignment the officer has received.  Volunteers with the State Lodge will relay the message to the officer, who may either reply through the State Lodge or who can then get in direct touch with the family member.

“The destruction visited upon the State of Louisiana by Hurricane Katrina is tremendous,” Canterbury said.  “But the response of the extended law enforcement family with their offers of help and aid has been equally tremendous.  I am very proud that the Louisiana State Lodge is providing this service to the families of officers and all of us pray that they will get to see their loved ones again soon.”

The Fraternal Order of Police is the largest law enforcement labor organization in the United States, with more than 321,000 members.

DOJ TESTING CONFIRMS DEFICIENCIES IN ZYLON VESTS
BVP program drops Zylon vests, announces new $10 million grant to help with replacements

Chuck Canterbury, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, reacted positively to the latest announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Body Armor Safety Initiative (BASI), which provided strong evidence that the effectiveness of Zylon®--a material used in the manufacture of soft body armor--degrades quickly and severely compromises the ability of the vest to prevent penetration of the ammunition it is designed to stop.

“Today’s announcement is not a surprise,” Canterbury said. “The BASI status report released today by the Department and the National Institute of Justice confirmed through ballistic testing what the F.O.P. suspected in the fall of 2003--that soft body armor made with Zylon may not be able to protect the officer from rounds which the vest is supposed to stop.”

Canterbury noted that it was the F.O.P. that first raised the concerns of the law enforcement community about Zylon® with then-Attorney General John D. Ashcroft following a 2003 incident in which a police officer in Forest Hills, Pennsylvania was seriously wounded because his body armor failed to protect him from a bullet that the vest was rated to stop.  The vest, which was only six (6) months old, was an Ultima® vest made by Second Chance Body Armor, Inc. and contained multiple bullet-resistant fabrics, including Zylon®.  It was the first verifiable incident in which soft body armor failed to prevent penetration from a bullet it was designed to defeat.

“I am very glad that the information from the NIJ tests have led the Department to change the parameters of the Bulletproof Vest Partnership (BVP) grant program to prohibit the use of Federal funds to purchase soft body armor containing Zylon,” Canterbury said.  “What’s more, the Department has provided an additional $10 million to the $23.6 million already available to law enforcement through the program to help agencies replace Zylon®-based vests.”

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) tested more than one hundred used vests made with Zylon®--including the back panel from the vest worn by the officer in Forest Hills.  Their testing showed that fifty-eight percent (58%) of the vests were penetrated by at least one round during a six-shot test series.  Of the vests that passed penetration testing, ninety-one (91%) showed excessive “backface deformation,” meaning that there was an increased chance of the officer wearing such a vest suffering blunt trauma from the shot.  Only four (4) vests met all the performance criteria under NIJ’s standard for new body armor.  According to the NIJ, the degradation of Zylon® is linked to the vest’s exposure to light and moisture.  The degradation cannot be detected by visual inspection and is not necessarily linked to the age of the vest.

“The failure of the vest in Forest Hills was very unsettling to law enforcement officers,” Canterbury said.  “The integrity of your body armor is a life-and-death issue, and to suspect that vests made of Zylon would not protect you from ballistic threats after only six months was downright terrifying.”

The Justice Department will issue a Body Armor Standard Advisory Notice to alert law enforcement to the potential risks associated with the use of Zylon® in body armor and adopt new interim requirements for its body armor compliance testing program.  Body armor that does not meet this standard will be ineligible for purchase through the BVP program.  The Department recommends that law enforcement agencies and officers purchase only bullet-resistant body armor models that comply with its new interim requirements, especially if their existing armor contains Zylon®. A list of body armor models that comply with the new requirements will be made available at http://www.justnet.org.

“Remember, these Zylon vests met NIJ performance standards when they were new, but neither the NIJ nor anyone else has any standards or testing protocols for vests in use,” Canterbury explained.  “And we still don’t.  This was something that the F.O.P. specifically asked the Justice Department to develop back in November 2003--a standard that could apply to soft body armor in use, so that officers in the field could have some confidence that their vest would protect them for the duration of the product’s warranty period.  The interim standard that the NIJ is putting into place is the first step in improving the current situation, and will certainly help to better protect officers in the future as new bullet-resistant technologies are developed.”

National President Canterbury and the Department of Justice reiterated, however, that officers in the field should continue to wear their soft body armor, even if the vest is made with Zylon®.

“Do not stop wearing your vest,” Canterbury said.  “We urge any law enforcement agency that uses soft body armor with Zylon as a component to replace them as soon as possible, but every officer must remember that any soft body armor, even if made with Zylon®, is better than none at all.”

F.O.P. members and other officers are encouraged to visit the website of the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program and Body Armor Safety Initiative: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bvpbasi
The site provides a great deal of valuable information, including the full text of the Third Status Report to the Attorney General on Body Armor Safety Initiative Testing and Activities (as well as an Executive Summary and Fact Sheet), the NIJ Body Armor Standard Advisory Notice #012005, and the NIJ 2005 Interim Requirements for BulletResistant Body Armor.

The Fraternal Order of Police is the largest law enforcement labor organization in the United States, with more than 321,000 members.

New Aviation Security Guidelines at DCA Provide Employment Opportunity for Active and Retired Law Enforcement Officers

The Grand Lodge, Fraternal Order of Police is providing this information to its members who may be interested in an employment opportunity as armed security officers (ASO) on charter and corporate flights in and out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).

On July 15, 2005, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced that it would reopen Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) to certain elements of general aviation (GA).  One of the guidelines requires that an armed security officer (ASO) be onboard each aircraft authorized to operate into and out of DCA.  Today, TSA placed the information about how to become an ASO on its website (URL listed below).

F.O.P. members who are interested in serving as ASOs must first be nominated by an aircraft operator who has completed an application to the DCA access program or a Fixed Base Operator (FBO)--an airport-based commercial enterprise that provides services to aircraft operators.  Prospective applicants must be qualified active or retired law enforcement officers (the rule uses the same definition of these terms as provided for in the Law Enforcement Officers’ Safety Act, better known to F.O.P. members as H.R. 218), meet certain eligibility criteria, and complete an application process that includes background, criminal history, and employment verification checks. Applicants meeting the established criteria must then complete two days of training conducted at one of twenty-one (21) locations nationwide. Applicants that successfully complete the ASO training program will be credentialed and authorized by TSA to serve on scheduled GA flights into DCA.

The actual implementation of the program will commence on 15 October, which will allow aircraft operators, FBOs, and ASO candidates time to apply, be vetted, and approved by TSA. 

You can learn more information about how to apply to become an ASO at TSA’s website
( http://www.tsa.gov/public/interapp/editorial/editorial_2079.xml ), which provides links to the ASO Guidance Document for prospective applicants as well as the Nomination Form, Application Form, and Lautenberg Certificate.

For further information, consult the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document provided on the website mention above, or contact Tim Richardson at the National Legislative Office, 202-547-8189.

F.O.P. Wins Major Court Victory on Privacy Rights of Law Enforcement Officers
Organization successful in defending a law which it helped write
 

Today National President Chuck Canterbury hailed as a “major victory” the recent decision by the Ohio Supreme Court upholding the privacy rights of law enforcement officers in the case of State ex rel. Plain Dealer Publishing Co. v. City of Cleveland.  In a 6-1 decision, the Court ruled in favor of the City, noting that “police officer photographs are exempt from disclosure under the Public Records Act because they constitute ‘peace officer residential and familial information.’”
 
“The F.O.P. is committed to enhancing the safety of every single law enforcement officer in the nation,” Canterbury said, “and the decision in this case is a major victory in our continuing efforts to do so:  upholding the right to privacy for our police officers, and recognizing the inherent danger to these brave men and women by wantonly and unnecessarily making their personal information publicly available.”
 
At issue was a public records request by the Cleveland Plain Dealer under the Ohio Public Records Law for photographs of eight law enforcement officers, who are usually uniformed officers.  The law­-which the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police drafted and which was enacted in 2000-­provides an exemption from public disclosure of “peace officer, firefighter, or EMT residential and familial information.”  The City of Cleveland, after consultation with the individual officers, denied the public records request.  The Plain Dealer then brought a mandamus suit with the Ohio Supreme Court demanding the release of these records.  The Fraternal Order of Police­which submitted amici briefs from the National, State and local lodge level­was the only major law enforcement organization involved in the case, or to recognize its potential impact on officer safety.
 
“Vindictive criminals, or anyone with an axe to grind ‘against the system,’ who can gain access to the home addresses, phone numbers or even photographs of these officers endangers not only the officers themselves, but their families and co-workers as well,” Canterbury said.  “Those who would deny this basic fact need only to look at the very recent and tragic murder of the family of a Federal judge in Chicago by a former defendant, where the judge’s home address and family photographs were posted on the Internet.”
 
“To think that police officers are not targeted for retaliation by the drug dealers or gang members they must confront on a daily basis is naïve,” Canterbury said.  “The dangers which these individuals must face in carrying out their sworn duty to protect and serve are immense, and the court agreed with us that protecting their safety is profoundly more important than being able to sell a few more newspapers.”
 
The Fraternal Order of Police is the nation’s largest law enforcement labor organization, with more than 321,000 members.
 
 

SECOND CHANCE STILL TRYING TO DODGE THE BULLET

F.O.P. recommends agencies replace vests now, urges officers to wear the vests they have

Chuck Canterbury, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, expressed skepticism regarding statements released today by Second Chance Body Armor which the company tried to characterize as a “decision to protect the lives of public safety officers.”

“Let us be clear,” Canterbury said, “this was not a decision driven by a concern about the safety of law enforcement officers--it’s about the bottom line of a company in bankruptcy facing numerous law suits from law enforcement agencies and officers.”

Second Chance Body Armor issued a press release and two “safety notices” citing “new research” that indicates soft body armor with Zylon as a component may fail, placing officers wearing such vests at risk. Canterbury noted that Second Chance discontinued the manufacture of the “Tri-flex” vests, which were the subject of one of the notices, in April 2004. The second notice regarding the “Performance Pac” enhancement was deemed by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) as “unacceptable” under Federal standards in December 2004.

“This is not ‘new research’ or new information,” Canterbury said. “The F.O.P. took our concerns about Zylon to the U.S. Department of Justice in the fall of 2003, which prompted the Department to launch its Body Armor Safety Initiative to analyze the use of this material in soft body armor. Our organization has been cautioning law enforcement agencies and officers about the use of any bullet-resistant vests with Zylon as a component for nearly two years.”

Second Chance issued a recall of its vests made entirely with Zylon shortly after the Fraternal Order of Police and others in the law enforcement community raised concerns about the material. They continued, however, to sell body armor like the “Tri-flex” vests, which had Zylon as a component, despite evidence that the material degraded under normal conditions which compromised the integrity and effectiveness of the vest.

“The safety of the individual officer is the F.O.P.’s primary concern,” Canterbury said. “We urge any law enforcement agency that uses soft body armor with Zylon as a component to replace them as soon as possible. In the meantime, we would remind all officers of this fact: any soft body armor is better than none at all.”

The Fraternal Order of Police is the largest law enforcement labor organization in the United States, with more than 321,000 members.


 

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