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Hueytown police are switching from utility belts to load-bearing vests, one of the first departments in Alabama to do so.

((Hueytown Police))

HUEYTOWN, Alabama - The Hueytown Police Department is fashion - and protection - forward.

The department will become among the first in the area to banish the old utility belt, which has universally caused officers more than their share of back pain and other aches. They will be replaced with load-bearing pocketed vests, a catch-all for the tens of pounds of equipment police haul around all day.

"I don't know of any other department in Alabama wearing the vests as a regular uniform,'' Hueytown Police Chief Chuck Hagler said. "The gun belts, when fully outfitted, weigh over 30 pounds, and carrying that weight around your waist all day just isn't good from a biomechanical point of view. There is a much smarter approach to carrying that equipment."

Hagler said he began looking for relief for his troops when officers started to complain about back problems. "I had also noticed lower back complaints to be common among many of the retired officers I knew,'' the chief said.

He started to research the issue on the internet, and found studies by reputable organizations, such as John Hopkins, that said the long-term duty belt was bad on the back and hips. Hagler then consulted with local orthopedists and chiropractors and he wasn't surprised by what they told him. "Of course it's bad for your back,'' he said.

Hagler recalled seeing Chicago police officers wearing load-bearing vests when he was there for an International Association of Chiefs of Police convention, and put a call into a friend on the Chicago force. He then found several other departments in the north and west also changing from duty belts to vests.

He shopped, and he priced, and he settled on JG Uniform's load-bearing vest, the same designed for, and used by, Chicago police. They are not cheap. The vests cost $250 to $300 apiece, but are custom designed for each officer's measurements and feature bulletproof panels that take the place of vests many officers already wear under their shirts.

"This means they can easily open the sides up or remove the vest completely when at the office to let the heat escape,'' Hagler said. "Ballistics vests can be miserable on a hot Alabama summer day."

So far, Hueytown has issued six vests for daily wear to test them out. The response from officers, the chief said, has been positive. "We plan on issuing them to all of our uniform officers by the end of the year,'' he said.

The police department bought the first six vests with grant money. The rest of the vests will be paid for with money from the budgeted uniform funds. "I was concerned that the public perception might be that they were too 'military' but the response so far has been really good,'' Hagler said.

The chief said the change is long-overdue. "Duty belts are an American law enforcement tradition. It's the way we have always done it,'' he said. "But they aren't good for us and a tradition that leaves us with lower back pain for the rest of our lives is a tradition we need to retire."