Towson chamber exhibits 'vest-ed' interest in police

In light of the death of a plainclothes Baltimore City policeman who was shot by fellow officers as he tried to break up a fight outside a Baltimore nightclub in January, the Towson Chamber of Commerce is taking action to prevent the same thing from happening to vulnerable county police at the Towson Precinct.

Various chamber members have chipped in a total of $1,200 for the purchase of special carrier vests for the precinct's Community Action Team to use when its members aren't in uniform.

Like every precinct in the county, the Towson Precinct has a CAT squad that can be dispatched to augment the usual police presence in areas in which there is a known problem or crime trend; for example, robberies, break-ins or car thefts.

The seven officers often work in plain clothes to blend in with civilians.

But that can be problematic when they are ordered to assist vice and narcotics units conducting a raid or working with uniformed officers responding to an emergency.

The officers they are assisting might not realize the CAT team members are police, especially in a melee, when they aren't in uniform — thus, the city incident.

Second District Councilman Todd Huff, who is a member of the chamber, decided to do something about it.

"I work very closely with police and understood their concern and need," he said.

He raised the issue with the chamber board two months go and proposed that some of its 300 members chip in to buy the unit tactical vests that can be donned over plain clothes and are clearly labeled "Police."

Huff said he did what he could to inspire people to donate, and they did. "We had overwhelming results," he said.

The chamber was able to order ten vests, seven for the CAT squad and three for the officers who work the Towson business patrol.

"They were so generous, we had to tell the members we didn't need more money," said chamber Executive Director Nancy Hafford. "We had to turn people away."

Police face a lot of safety issues these days, according to Officer Ken Stetson, a member of the Towson business patrol.

The vests do more than identify the wearer as a police officer, he said. "They hold all the stuff you would wear on your belt if you were in uniform: radio, ammunition magazine, pepper spray, handcuffs and cell phone."

"And you can slip in the ballistic panels that usually go under our uniforms."

While each county police officer is issued a protective ballistic vest to wear under the uniform, not every officer is provided with the type of cloth carrier vest the chamber is donating, according to county police spokes woman Cathy Batton.

They are not for patrol, she said. They generally have been issued only to detectives who work in plain clothes but have to undertake tasks in which it benefits them to be identified as police officers, for example, serving a warrant.

"These are challenging economic times and we have to prioritize the equipment we can buy," she said.

The carrier vests come well recommended. "A couple of officers have paid for their own," said Sgt. Richard Delea, who's in charge of the Towson CAT squad.

The County Code prohibits gifts to the police department without approval by the County Council, so the donors had to give the money to the Towson chamber and earmark it for the vests.

The council green-lighted the transaction this week and Hafford placed the order for the vests June 30.

The Towson police are grateful. "It's tremendously nice of them to do this," said CAT Officer Dave Short.