Chief James Lane of the Norton, VA, police was shot multiple times last year and save by his vest. (Photo: City of Norton)
A Virginia police chief who was shot last May while responding to a shoplifting call at a WalMart has been awarded a body armor "saves" plaque from Point Blank Enterprises.
On May 7, 2021, Norton, VA, Police Chief James Lane was shot multiple times.
He spent spent weeks in the hospital and was finally released on May 28. He still uses a wheelchair and a walker, WJHL reports.
Lane was wounded in both arms and his pelvis. Several rounds were stopped by his ballistic vest.
“Ironically, most chiefs don’t wear a vest and thankfully he was,” said Mike Beaver, Point Blank's representative over the Virginia region.
“The rounds that impacted [the vest], I was told, something that would have been a life-ending event had he not had his body armor on,” Beaver told WJHL. “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.”
Point Blank presents Saves Plaques to officers who are shot and protected while wearing the company's body armor.
Chief Lane is still leading his department.
