Page 38 - February 2020 FOP Magazine

Safety Check
n BY KAREN STAHL
For Victoria Mendoza, life is categorized as “before the shooting” and “after the shoot- ing,” or before the vest and af- ter the vest.
While boasting a smile that illuminates Mendoza’s entire face, her eyes tell a different sto- ry. It’s a tale ⁠— one of countless in the Chicago Police Depart- ment ⁠— that will make every heart turn toward the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation’s (CPMF) Get Behind the Vest (GBTV) campaign.
When, thanks to the gener- osity of their community, Chi- cago Police Officers will once again have the opprotunity to get brand-new bulletproof vests from Feb. 17 to Feb. 21, it’ll be easy to see the impact of this unbelievable program, es- pecially with Mendoza in mind.
Chicago Police Officer Arustus Muhammad receives his new vest at the 22nd District in January.
A section spotlighting ways and means to help Chicago Police Offificers be safe
Fully Vested
Get Behind the Vest program continues to provide needed protection
She clearly remembers
the day her blue pants turned to red, when her sock became drenched with the blood spilling from a gunshot wound to her leg. She remembers lying in shock while her partner gave chase and endured five more shots. She remembers how the split-sec- ond decision to grab a tourniquet from the Law Enforcement Medical and Rescue (LEMAR) kit in her vest saved her life.
Two and a half years on the job live in the space between her receiving that vest and it becoming a godsend.
About two years after that came the birth of her daughter. The 6-month-old’s life is one that might not have existed without GBTV, which provides a free vest and custom-made, standard four-pocket cover.
And now, safely in the after-the-shooting category, Mendoza can’t stop singing the program’s praises.
“The program is incredible,” Mendoza confirms. “I’ve cer- tainly heard all the stories about what could happen without it.” It was July 2017 when Mendoza got hit in the knee by a bullet in Back of the Yards. The second her feet touched the ground to give chase, her movement halted as her body froze. There was
no pain – just blood.
“I put my tourniquet on,” Mendoza recalls. “I just waited for
backup units to come and help me get to the hospital.”
She’s not quiet about the fact that the tourniquet from the kit in her vest is absolutely what saved her. The bulletproof, lifesav- ing equipment was given to her through the GBTV just a couple
of years earlier, when she first joined the 19th District. “Wearing the vest was really important to me,” Mendoza
38 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ FEBRUARY 2020
affirms. “If I didn’t have that, how much worse could it have been?”
The officer was one of about 8,060 who received a vest as part of the first wave of fittings in 2015, according to Bridget Schuda, development and communications officer for the CPMF.
The foundation covers the $500 cost per vest, with no hassle involved. All it takes is the 10 minutes to get fitted and pick it up, as any of the 980 officers from the 22nd District who participat- ed in January’s fitting can vouch.
“It is one of those things that’s for your own peace of mind or your loved ones at home,” Schuda shares, highlighting the importance of getting a vest. “This program is truly one that is