Page 50 - December 2021

A bullet was fired at Chicago Police Of- ficer James Kurth on July 20.
Fortunately, the bullet hit Kurth’s vest. And it just so happened that he had re- placed his vest that morning, courtesy of the Chicago Police Memorial Foun- dation (CPMF). The replacement might have saved his life.
“Would his old vest have stopped the bullet? Probably,” said CPMF Director of Operations Joseph Salemme. “But he’s very happy he didn’t have to find that out.”
The CPMF created a “Get Behind the Vest” initiative and announced a pur- chase of 434 new ballistic vests on Dec. 1 for Chicago Police Officers whose vests are about to expire. Vests deteriorate through sweat and normal wear and tear, giving them a shelf life of five years.
Officers are responsible for replac- ing their vests, which go for nearly $500 each, when they expire or encounter a bullet. The CPMF wanted to ease the burden of expenses, and by providing new vests, they allow officers to use that
money for other priorities.
“They’ll use their uniform allowance
to buy kids' braces, tuition, groceries or bills,” Salemme said. “We understand that, and that’s why we try to do this. The members are truly appreciative of being provided these vests.”
As technology improves, so do the vests. Salemme, who came on the job in 1985, said they have gotten lighter, more flexible and more user-friendly.
“They were hard, heavy and bulky,” he recalled. “Now they’re a third to weight and a third to thickness.”
Salemme added that the CPMF can re- place 2,000 expired vests per year due to all the donations it receives. The founda- tion has provided nearly 12,000 vests to members since 1980.
CPMF continues to replace vests for Chicago Police Officers
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