CMPD Officers Will Soon Get New Bulletproof Vests

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department announced on Thursday that officers will be allowed to wear outer vests. This comes after months of effort from city councilman Tariq Bokari and the Fraternal Order of Police have pushed for these vest to be an option for officers.

Both organizations are saying that this is a big win for all of their efforts to make these vests available for officers, making it a huge step in the right direction. Charlotte city councilman Tariq Bokari is proud of his efforts after CMPD announced Thursday that officers and sergeants can apply for outer carry vests. Bokari along with the Fraternal Order of Police have been pushing CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings for months to allow these vests for officers.

According to the email sent to officers, the use of outer carrier vests was approved for reasonable accommodations for the departments ADA procedures back in January. The email said officers can receive the outer carrier vests for one of the three reasons: preventative measures, current minor medical issues, or a request through the American Disability Act.

Daniel Redford is the president for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Fraternal Order of Police. When these images surfaced of CMPD officers wearing the outer carrier vests at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Redford saw it as opportunity to question the Chief’s claims that the vests raise safety concerns.

Reford told WCCB’s Emma Mondo that even though Chief Jennings changed his mind, he still feels like these three applications options are making officers jump over an extra hurdle.

WCCB has reached out to Chief Jennings to ask him why he changed his mind about the vests, but there has been no response. Redford tells the WCCB newsroom that he’s not expecting to see these vests roll out next week either but instead he thinks it will be anywhere from 4 to 8 months before you see officers wearing them.