Recently mass shootings and active shooter incidents have once again dominated the national news headlines. Three such incidents occurred within the past three months. On October 1, 2017, the worst mass shooting in the modern history of the United States occurred in Las Vegas, Nevada. In this incident, a lone shooter fired semi-automatic rifles into a crowd of approximately 22,000 concertgoers, ultimately killing 58 people and wounding 546. On November 5, 2017, a gunman opened fire on parishioners at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, leaving 26 dead. Finally, on November 14, 2017, a suspect in Rancho Tehama, California shot and killed five people with a semi-automatic rifle before he was ultimately confronted and killed by local Sheriff's deputies. Law enforcement officials later revealed the suspect had earlier attempted to break into a local elementary school intending on shooting children, but when he was unable to gain access into the school, he moved on.
The tragic shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado almost twenty years ago significantly changed the philosophies, policies and procedures regarding law enforcement's response to active shooter incidents. Since the Columbine shooting, police agencies have adopted tactics in which patrol/first responders immediately respond to active shooter situations with the goal of engaging and neutralizing the threat. This vastly differs from the tactics law enforcement practiced prior to the Columbine incident, which was for patrol personnel to contain the situation and wait for SWAT and other specialized personnel to mobilize and address the threat. This significant change in procedure also emphasized the importance of well-trained and well-equipped patrol staff. Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office Deputies routinely receive ongoing training regarding response to active and mass shooter incidents. The objective of this training is to prepare our sworn personnel to immediately respond, confront the suspect(s) and eliminate the threat to public safety.
One of the common links in all the above-mentioned incidents was the suspects carried out their attacks using semi-automatic rifles. Semi-automatic and other high-powered rifles give the perpetrators of these crimes the ability to cause many casualties in a relatively short amount of time.
Currently, sworn personnel assigned to patrol and other field operation positions are equipped with Level II or Level III A Kevlar soft body armor. While these types of body armors are designed to provide protection against attacks by most small arms, they do not provide the most optimal protection against assault-style rifles or other high-powered armaments.
The vendor Victory Tactical Gear provides the equipment that best meets the operational needs of the Office of the Sheriff and is one of the few companies currently offering ballistic plate carriers approved by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). The plate carriers are certified by NIJ to stop up to six rounds of 5.56 mm ammunition traveling at 3,000 feet per second. Additionally, these steel plates will stop .308 (7.62x51 mm) rounds as well as most pistol rounds. Victory Tactical Gear also manufactures the equipment, allowing for a streamlined reordering process.
Equipping all Sheriff's Office Field Operations Personnel with the Victory Tactical ballistic plate carriers and Kevlar helmets would ensure deputies are adequately equipped and prepared to respond to an active/mass shooting incident anywhere within Contra Costa County at a moment's notice.
The Office of the Sheriff will not be able to purchase the Victory Tactical Active Shooter Kits.