The Edison Police Department unveiled the newest tool in its crime-fighting arsenal on Nov. 13 as officers demonstrated their recently acquired ballistic shields at the Stelton Community Center.
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The shields, weighing roughly 20 pounds and standing 34 inches high, are made of a ballistic metal that can protect officers from, in Police Director Brian Collier’s words, "everything from bow and arrows to bullets." At the top is an eye slot covered with bulletproof glass. In the middle is a light-emitting diode that is activated from behind the shield, which serves as a flashlight.
Edison police officers, primarily those in patrol but also school and community resources officers, will now be equipped with one of these 33 shields as part of their standard equipment. Collier said that giving them to officers is a survivability issue. Mayor Jun Choi said that Collier had been a strong advocate of these shields even before being appointed director earlier this year, saying that he wanted to make sure that the police were well protected when on the job.
During the Nov. 13 demonstration, Collier said that people today, unfortunately, live in age where "random acts of terrible violence" can occur almost anywhere, from a church to a mall to a school. While it can take a specialized emergency response team up to 16 minutes to arrive, a patrol officer can be there much sooner. The problem, though, is that a patrol officer ordinarily won’t have the same equipment emergency responders may have to deal with a shooter.
"They never lack courage, but they sometimes lack protection," said Collier.
With this in mind, Collier said that all first response cruisers would now come equipped with a ballistic shield. School resource officers and community resource officers will also have this equipment.
"I have a S.W.A.T. team that has these, but what good are they going to do me in a garage? My cops need them when they need them, and when there are school children or mall patrons taking a beating from a bad guy, we’re not waiting for the garage door to open. We’ve got them in the trunk and we’re moving in, and the worst that will happen is they will waste ammo on the shield and not our kids. … Let them shoot at us; we’ll take it and give it right
back," said Collier.
The police director also noted that the shields can help when a "less than lethal" solution is required, such as in domestic violence cases where someone might be wielding a melee weapon of some sort. Collier demonstrated that they would make it much easier to immobilize and subdue a violent person in close quarters.
The shields were acquired through a federal grant, with the help of the New Jersey National Guard, which negotiated a deep discount for the equipment, getting the cost down to $1,000 per shield. The federal Drug Enforcement Administration, meanwhile, will be providing Edison police officers with training in their use. Collier, a former DEA agent himself, said that federal agents make frequent use of ballistic shields in their work. Special Agent Gerard McAleer, with the DEA, said they are used almost daily.
The federal agent said that people learning to use the shields go through a one-day live-fire training program.
"It’s difficult. They’re not easy to carry around. Now, run up three flights of stairs with that. Run down an ally with that. Run through a school building with that. … Most police officers are trained to fire without any protection or to use cover. This way, you’re carrying your cover with you," said McAleer.
While other police departments in New Jersey have already adopted the use of ballistic shields, Mayor Choi said that Edison is the first town to use them to this extent, saying that no other town fully equips its officers with such tools.
"This is a low-tech solution but a very innovative solution," said Choi.
Contact Chris Gaetano at [email protected].