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Article Excerpt
Tony Zeppetella, a police officer in Oceanside, California, trusted that his bulletproof vest would protect him on the job. He had spent $313 of his own money to upgrade his standard-issue vest to an Ultima vest made with Zylon, a fiber stronger but lighter weight than Kevlar, a material more often used in body armor.
His trust was misplaced. On June 13, 2003, he was shot during a routine traffic stop. The first bullet--one the vest was designed to resist--pierced his vest and severed his common carotid artery and jugular vein. Unable to defend himself because of the injury, he sought cover but was shot 12 more times and died. The suspect fled the scene in Zeppetella's patrol car but was later apprehended.
Later that month, another officer, Edward Limbacher of Forest Hills, Pennsylvania, was shot during a drug bust and seriously injured when a .40-caliber bullet pierced his Ultima vest.
These incidents raised urgent questions in police agencies across the country about the reliability of Zylon-based body armor. They also prompted a Justice Department investigation and a series of lawsuits by police organizations, state attorneys general, and the families of the two officers.
Zylon is a synthetic fiber made by Toyobo Co. in Osaka, Japan. The company claims it is "the strongest man-made fiber in the world"; "has high tensile strength, thermal stability, and flame resistance as compared to organic fiber"; and is twice as strong as Kevlar and lighter than other conventional bulletproof materials. The fiber is used in over 50 products, including sporting goods such as tennis rackets and golf clubs, high-tension rope, racing suits and helmets, and aerospace equipment. Body armor manufacturers buy Zylon as thread and then contract with weavers to make fabric based on the design and specifications...
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