Penn State Issues New Bullet-Proof Vests to Campus Officers

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State’s police officers have been issued new body armor.

The department had been using armor that was found to be defective. In August, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) discovered that Zylon, a chemical compound used to make the vests, deteriorates under heat and moisture faster than expected. As a result, during a six-shot test series, 60 percent of them were penetrated by at least one round.

The federal government paid for half of the cost of the new vests, which were ordered in September but just arrived.

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