According to the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the fatality risk for  law enforcement officers in America is nearly four times greater than  that of the average American worker. Barbecue, Boots & Badges, the  charitable foundation founded by Dickey's Barbecue Pit, aims to reduce  that risk for police officers by providing life-saving bullet proof  vests.
Barbecue, Boots & Badges' newest initiative  is called "Invest in a Vest". The foundation has partnered with Angel  Armor to provide life-saving ballistic body armor for police officers. A  donation of $500 buys a set of ballistic plates, which protect the  wearer from sniper rounds and high-powered ammunition. The foundation  will donate ballistic plates to Dallas Police Department's entire gang  unit to launch the "Invest in a Vest" program on Tuesday, February 28.   Ballistic vests have saved the lives of at least 3,000 law enforcement  officers and increased survival rates from gunshots to the torso by 14  percent. "The risk of dying from a gunshot wound to the torso is 3.4  times higher for law enforcement officers who do not wear armor vests,"  cites Nathan James, Analyst in Crime Policy for the Congressional  Research Service.
"Barbecue, Boots & Badges aims to  serve those who protect us," says Commissioner Maurine Dickey, the  founder and spokesperson of Dickey's foundation. "Our first responders  put their lives on the line for us every day, and we hope to provide  this state of the art equipment to make their jobs safer."
Some Dallas police officers are getting an extra layer of protection that could quite literally save their lives.
A non-profit organization  is outfitting 20 of Dallas PD's most vulnerable officers with  specialized ballistic vests. They're called Angel Armor ballistic body  plates and weigh just two pounds apiece.
Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. also has launched a donation matching program for in-store fundraisers.
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