LAPD Selects KDH Defense as Body Armor Supplier

The Los Angeles Police Department has awarded a contract to distributor Galls to supply KDH Defense's Level II and Level IIIA concealable body armor and polyethylene special threat plates to patrol officers.

The contract, which covers five to 10 years, will be worth between $7.5 million and $14 million. KDH will supply between 11,000 and 20,000 vests to the department, a KDH rep told POLICE.

"LAPD's criteria were extremely specific to performance against special threat ammunition testing and verification of area density weight requirements," said Paul Larkin, KDH's national sales director.

During the evaluation phase, the ballistic testing and verification was conducted at an NIJ-approved ballistic laboratory. Male and female officers also wore the body armor over a thirty-day period, according to the company.

"One of the key factors we believe resulted in this award was the proven performance of KDH's advanced LTST and LTSTF special threat series ballistic systems, as these were specifically identified by LAPD as meeting their rigid specifications," said Dave Herbener, KDH's CEO.