Area police departments receive donated body armor

Steel Ops offering protection specifically to schoolbased officers

A Fort Collins manufacturer of body armor has donated several protection vests to a handful of police departments along the Front Range with the intent of outfitting school resource officers.

This week, the Loveland Police Department accepted six protective vests from Steel Ops. Departments in Thornton, Platteville and Mead have also accepted the heavy armor.

Joe Trimbath, Steel Ops operations manager, said each vest contains enough steel plating to be “more than capable of handling any of the threats seen lately.”

Trimbath said the company has begun to donate specifically to schoolbased officers in light of the nation’s school shootings.

“We want to make sure school resource officers are prepared,” Trimbath said Wednesday.

Loveland school resource officer Jay Smith said he appreciates the armor and its ability to stop heavy fire.

“Most of the shootings around the country have been higher caliber rounds,” Smith said. “It’s comforting, knowing that if you were going to be shot by one of those, you could stay up and take the bad guy into custody.”

Smith said the vests secure quickly and weigh about 15 pounds. Standard issue Kevlar vests weigh about 5 to 6 pounds and all standard gear combined adds about 30 pounds to the wearer.

“(The Steel Ops vests) are definitely heavier than what we’re used to wearing,” he said. “But we’ll get used to it.”

Trimbath and Steel Ops owner Matt Tucci have contacted several law enforcement departments to offer armor pro bono for school officers; some accept, some refuse.

“We hope that people see we’re doing this for the right reasons,” Trimbath said. “If we can donate, we feel like it’s our responsibility. … Our plan is to supply as many local PDs as possible.”