In the middle of April 2018, the Sheriff’s Office began issuing rifle-rated body armor to all patrol Deputies and Detectives.  The Sheriff’s Office issues soft armor to all deputies and requires them to be worn on patrol and during other various enforcement activities, but the soft armor is only rated for handgun rounds.  Working in a rural county, deputies often interact with and respond to calls where people have access to rifles.  And while the majority of people we interact with are law abiding, we want to equip our law enforcement officers with tools to help keep them as safe as possible from people that wish to do them harm.  Each deputy assigned to patrol or to a plain clothes assignment was issued a rifle plate carrier, along with rifle plates.  The plates are designed to withstand multiple hits from rifle-caliber rounds while protecting the user from sustaining major injuries. 

I am proud to be able to provide these life-saving tools to our deputies.  And while I hope that none of our deputies have to find out firsthand how well these stop bullets, I want to provide them with tools that will help ensure they make it home at the end of their shifts.

-Sheriff Chris Brown