Fighting for Bulletproof Vests

[Omaha Steve]

http://afscmeblog.org/?p=24

AFSCME in Chicago — Fighting for Bulletproof Vests

Today, Dennis Morgan addressed the AFSCME 37th International Convention. Dennis is not a member of AFSCME, but he will always be a part of the AFSCME family. A year ago (August 9, 2005) his father, corrections officer Wayne “Cotton” Morgan, was gunned down by the wife of an inmate he was transferring from a courthouse in Kingston, TN. Officer Morgan was treasurer of AFSCME Local 2173.

Officer Morgan’s death may have been prevented had he been provided with an appropriate bulletproof vest. Morgan’s repeated requests for a fitted vest were denied. So since his father’s death, Dennis has taken up a campaign with AFSCME to pass federal legislation that mandates providing bulletproof vests for corrections officers. Currently federal law requires state and local governments to pony up “matching funds” to equip officers with critical safety equipment.

Thanks to the hard work of Dennis and AFSCME COs from across the country, Congressmen Ted Strickland (D-OH), Harold Ford (D-TN) and Bart Stupak (D-MI) introduced H.R. 4215, the Wayne “Cotton” Morgan Bulletproof Vest Act.

The Bulletproof Vest Act now has a growing number of Democratic co-sponsors, but no Republicans.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 7th, 2006 at 12:53 pm and is filed under Workers' rights, Convention/21st Century Initiative.


More about this here: http://www.afscme.org/press/6765.cfm AFSCME Calls for Wayne "Cotton" Morgan Safety Legislation

$10,000 Donation Made to Memorial Fund

[AtomicKitten]

1. this issue remains a national disgrace

and should be kryptonite to the Republicans if used liberally in campaign ads.

[SPCAworks]

2. hmmmm...

what was wrong with his ISSUED vest?

[Omaha Steve]

3. He didn't have one

Officer Morgan’s death may have been prevented had he been provided with an appropriate bulletproof vest. Morgan’s repeated requests for a fitted vest were denied.

[AtomicKitten]

4. our soldiers have also been deprived of proper armour

[SPCAworks]

5. the story

doesn't specify...

Was he ISSUED A VEST?

Possibly one that was UNCOMFORTABLE so he requested a FITTED model?

If he was DENIED a vest PERIOD, this is SHOCKING. IF he DIDN'T LIKE his issued vest and asked for a fitted model then...

The reason I ask is that my brother is a cop and he paid money from his own pocket for a custom vest, fitted and optioned with extra plates. It's XXPD policy that officers PAY for custom vests.

[Omaha Steve]

6. OOHHHH

I will contact AFSCME for more details. Look for an answer in a few days. Thanks for the reply.

[SPCAworks]

7. excellent.

You see the standard vests are never right on for anyone. If you're thin they don't fit in at the waist, if you tighten it up on the waist then the sides stick out, if it's a bit too long then it rides up on your shoulders when you sit. A lot of cops have custom fitted vests and add extra ceramic plates to the sides and back.

[SPCAworks]

8. And if you think the TN story is bad, look at this!!!

"The fatal stabbing of guard Manuel A. Gonzalez at the Chino Institution for Men (Chino, California) earlier this month highlighted the grave dangers of working on the inside, and it revealed problems with the bureaucracy and the union’s influence. Warden Lori DiCarlo, reportedly with input from union representatives, held back on distributing 300 stab-resistant vests being stored at Chino, fearing that it wouldn’t be fair to hand them out to some but not all 900 officers at the prison. But the union blames Schwarzenegger’s Youth and Adult Correctional Agency secretary, Hickman, saying he’s bred a culture of hostility toward guards by aggressively investigating officer misconduct, putting them on the defensive in an offensive world."

These stupid fucks had 300 of the vests in the stockroom but didn't distribute them. That's CRIMINAL.

[OldSiouxWarrior]

9. New, better, and cheaper armor is in final stages of development.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpEmFoMtPdM

I don't have the scientific knowledge to comment intelligently on this. If it works as advertised, it will be great.

The stuff is supposed to be much cheaper than current armor too.

Hope it works.