Former Second Chance Body Armor President, Richard Davis, Statement Regarding The Whistleblower Suit
Richard Davis, the former President of Second Chance Body Armor, makes a statement about allegations put forth in Episode 7 of the Whistleblower series.
Posted on Aug 17, 2018 | 07:00pm
Dr. Aaron Westrick blew the whistle on Second Chance Body Armor and Toyobo Co., Ltd. after he says the two companies conspired to keep the defects of Zylon® a secret, failing to warn law enforcement and the military that the bulletproof vests made with Zylon® were wearing out well before their 5-year warranty.
CBS reached out to Mr. Davis for a comment and he provided the following statement.
Statement from Richard Davis:
"Thank you for giving me an opportunity to respond and I trust the airing on Friday, August 17th will be a factual representation of what transpired. For commentary:
In 1969, I invented soft concealable body armor and subsequently founded Second Chance Body Armor. I am very proud of what Second Chance accomplished over our 30+ years of life-saving work. I say this, as during my tenure, Second Chance has been credited with saving over 1,000 Police Officers from death or serious injury and this is what drove both me, and the hundreds of employees, day in and day out. Officer safety was always our number one priority.
Additionally, since 1987, the industry at large has proudly saved over 3,100 Police Officers from death or serious injury (see IACP / DuPont Kevlar® Survivors' Club, www.dupont.com). This is something that I am forever honored to have played a part in.
"As a Company, we took immediate action and with the Board's support, we conducted conclusive independent laboratory testing of armor containing Zylon materials. I am proud of the way our Company handled this matter in notifying the National Institute of Justice, our customers, partners and the industry-at-large once the tests were completed."
To add, Second Chance Body Armor was the first company in the industry to stop using Zylon and I am proud that our actions post-recall resulted in the replacement or upgrade of nearly all 120,000 Zylon vests that were in circulation in the United States.
Lastly, to the best of my knowledge, the allegation that Aaron Westrick was offered any means of consideration regarding his handling of the Zylon issue is simply false.
Sincerely,
Richard Davis"
Watch all-new episodes of Whistleblower on Fridays at 9/8c on CBS and CBS All Access.
CBS reached out to Mr. Davis for a comment and he provided the following statement.
Statement from Richard Davis:
"Thank you for giving me an opportunity to respond and I trust the airing on Friday, August 17th will be a factual representation of what transpired. For commentary:
In 1969, I invented soft concealable body armor and subsequently founded Second Chance Body Armor. I am very proud of what Second Chance accomplished over our 30+ years of life-saving work. I say this, as during my tenure, Second Chance has been credited with saving over 1,000 Police Officers from death or serious injury and this is what drove both me, and the hundreds of employees, day in and day out. Officer safety was always our number one priority.
Additionally, since 1987, the industry at large has proudly saved over 3,100 Police Officers from death or serious injury (see IACP / DuPont Kevlar® Survivors' Club, www.dupont.com). This is something that I am forever honored to have played a part in.
"As a Company, we took immediate action and with the Board's support, we conducted conclusive independent laboratory testing of armor containing Zylon materials. I am proud of the way our Company handled this matter in notifying the National Institute of Justice, our customers, partners and the industry-at-large once the tests were completed."
To add, Second Chance Body Armor was the first company in the industry to stop using Zylon and I am proud that our actions post-recall resulted in the replacement or upgrade of nearly all 120,000 Zylon vests that were in circulation in the United States.
Lastly, to the best of my knowledge, the allegation that Aaron Westrick was offered any means of consideration regarding his handling of the Zylon issue is simply false.
Sincerely,
Richard Davis"
Watch all-new episodes of Whistleblower on Fridays at 9/8c on CBS and CBS All Access.