F.O.P. Calls on Justice Dept. to Investigate Second Chance for Criminal Wrongdoing; NAPO Lawsuit May Let Second Chance 'Off Hook'

6/18/2004

From: Tim Richardson of the Fraternal Order of Police, 202-368-0751

WASHINGTON, June 18 -- Chuck Canterbury, national president of the Fraternal Order of Police, announced today that he had contacted the U.S. Departmnent of Justice to allege that Second Chance may have knowingly concealed a known defect in their bullet-resistant vests that were manufactured with the material Zylon from law enforcement officers and the public.

"Today the National Fraternal Order of Police has requested that the U.S. Department of Justice immediately institute a criminal investigation regarding Second Chance and the sale of soft body armor which the company knew to be defective," Canterbury said. "Second Chance may have violated various consumer protection laws and breached its express/implied warranty by falsely representing and warranting that its bullet-resistant vests provided ballistic protections and met certified standards. This company ignored the advice of its Director of Research to immediately notify its customers of the degradation problem and instead continued to sell a product they knew to be defective. In so doing, this company has potentially placed the lives of tens of thousands of law enforcement officers at risk."

Canterbury also shared with the U.S. Department of Justice information regarding a lawsuit against Second Chance that was recently filed by the Attorney General for the State of Minnesota. The F.O.P is currently seeking additional information on another lawsuit filed by the National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) against the company for similar violations.

"It is our understanding that the NAPO suit is a class action lawsuit pending in the State of Michigan and we have serious questions as to whether or Second Chance invited that lawsuit," Canterbury said. "We do not want to see any settlement which could be detrimental to law enforcement officers nationwide, or let Second Chance off the hook, so I have also asked the Department to consider intervening in both the Michigan and Minnesota cases."

The Fraternal Order of Police brought its concerns regarding the use of Zylon in the manufacture of soft body armor, after reports that vests made of this material were experiencing failures to the U.S. Department of Justice late last year. The Department immediately launched the Body Armor Safety Initiative to address these concerns. Earlier this year, Canterbury and other F.O.P. leaders participated in a Body Armor Safety Summit, an event sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice for the purpose of discussing and reviewing the use of Zylon-based bullet-resistant vests and the testing and certification process for soft body armor at the National Institute of Justice.

"This U.S. Department of Justice have been very much involved with this issue and its critical officer safety implications," Canterbury said. "I am confident that they will act swiftly to do the right thing."

The Fraternal Order of Police is the largest law enforcement labor organization in the United States, with more than 318,000 members.