LOS ANGELES : LAPD to Outfit Officers With Stronger Helmets
The Los Angeles Police Department hopes to outfit all its officers with better protective helmets within the year, officials said Tuesday.
The need for better helmets was emphasized after the 1992 riots. Since then, the LAPD has been searching for helmets with which to outfit its officers in the event of another riot.
Initial attempts to find a bulletproof helmet ran aground after officials determined that it is all but impossible to make an entirely bulletproof helmet that can be worn comfortably. Instead, the LAPD has fallen back on a lower standard, one employed by the U.S. military, that helmets be able to restrict shrapnel and flying debris but not be fully bulletproof.
Armed with that standard and money to purchase the $270 helmets, officials told members of the Los Angeles Police Commission that they hope to have the helmets within the year.
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