Amid the rising concerns over officer safety, a nonprofit organization, Operation Safe Shield (OSS), has been vocally advocating for the outfitting of all Texas police patrol cars with ballistic glass. According to KXAN, OSS provided a live demonstration in Austin to display the protective capabilities of the bullet-resistant glass that the group has been working diligently to provide to law enforcement agencies.
OSS, which was established in 2021 following the shooting of two state troopers, has made it its mission to secure funding to ensure officers' vehicles across the state are equipped with a material that could mean the difference between life and death. Dr. Clifford Dorn, OSS President, emphasized the value of the investment: "How much is an officer’s life worth? That’s what I tell people, what would you pay to protect that guy that’s going to rush to your house and save your life? So to me, $9,000 in today’s economy, that’s not a lot of money," he told KXAN. To date, OSS has raised a substantial $1.2 million, which has been used to outfit over 100 vehicles in the Brazos Valley area with the expensive, yet potentially lifesaving, glass.
Supporting the push for state-funded protection, Dr. Dorn detailed his vision for future legislative sessions to create grant programs that would benefit all law enforcement, not just state troopers. "Our other officers are just as important as the state DPS officers," Dr. Dorn told FOX 7 Austin. Adding to the initiative, George's Paint and Body Shop has partnered with OSS to install the glass, with owner Silas Garrett explaining, "We do have to modify the inside of the door just a little bit on the actual door, you know, inside the door panel, for the glass to go up and down. And that's the only modification we really have to do now.”
Also considered in the design, the ballistic glass enables officers to return fire from within their vehicles, a factor that could prove crucial in surprise attack scenarios. Michael Jones from DANA Safety Supply, supplier for OSS, stated, "In ambush style situations where you have a suspect like you see down in New York, where they come up on the side of the car, and they have the element of surprise. Now, if they were to discharge, if they were to discharge, rounds into the side glass, now they can eliminate the threat and shoot out of that," as he explained to FOX 7 Austin. DANA has reportedly fitted ballistic glass on approximately 3,000 patrol cars statewide, with many departments, such as the San Antonio PD, financing the upgrades themselves, while the Austin Police Department is still considering the technology.
