NORTON, Va. (WJHL) — At a restaurant about three miles from where the Walmart where Norton Police Chief James Lane was shot in the line of duty, he was honored for his heroic efforts.
“The product that your company has, I’m living proof that it does make a difference and it also saves lives,” Lane said as he accepted a “Saves Plaque” from Point Blank Enterprises.
Point Blank Enterprises makes body armor gear. Several departments in Southwest Virginia, including the Norton Police Department, are outfitted with their lifesaving gear.
“Ironically, most chiefs don’t wear a vest and thankfully he was,” said Mike Beaver, the company representative over the region.
Lane was assisting with a shoplifting call at Walmart when he was shot several times.
“The rounds that impacted it, I was told, something that would have been a life-ending event had he not had his body armor on,” Beaver said. “The round that struck his vest was basically covering his vitals: his lungs, his heart, his spleen, that’s the area that’s the area that we try to protect.”
The body armor company presents a “Saves Plaque” for every person whose life is spared in by wearing their gear in the line of duty.
“The way that it’s made is lessening the amount of trauma to the body while slowing down these rounds that could penetrate body armor and if there was no body armor then obviously your skin,” Beaver said. “The body armor itself is layers of material. In this case it’s a Dyneema, a plastic-like material that’s layered within the vest.”
