Deputies with Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) are exploring a new look in uniforms, and are hoping to balance their health and safety needs with an appearance that the public will find pleasing.

At the May 4 meeting of the JCSO Citizens Advisory Committee, Deputy Brandon Przygocki modeled a utility vest design that’s become increasingly popular with law enforcement throughout the state, from city police departments and county sheriff’s offices to the Washington State Patrol.

“The load-bearing of equipment on a vest is different from the belts that we currently use,” said Przygocki, who’s served with the sheriff’s office for eight years and sits on its uniform committee. “Even with nylon instead of leather belts, a fully stocked duty belt is 25-30 pounds. That’s a lot of weight to put directly on your hips, and that’s how you can get nerve damage and deep vein thrombosis. I’m 29 years old and I already have lower back problems, but for the six weeks I’ve been wearing this vest, I haven’t.”

Przygocki was quick to concede what he deemed to be the vests’ only flaw; when worn with deputies’ jumpsuits, which he likewise praised as comfortable and affording free range of movement, the uniformity of green between the two uniform items does lend them a more military appearance.

“Green and black are the only colors available to us,” Przygocki said.

By contrast, Przygocki cited a multitude of advantages to the vest, from its more visible reflective name tape and sheriff’s patches to its placement of all the equipment on the front of the vest, within easy reach of the deputy, as opposed to the belt, which requires deputies to reach behind them to retrieve certain equipment items.

“You’re not seeing anything on this vest that I wouldn’t already be carrying on my belt,” Przygocki said. “There’s no firearm magazines or knives.”

At the same time, the vest offers the additional benefits of pockets in which to place ballistic kevlar panels, as well as a built-in drag strap.

“Let’s say you have an officer who’s injured and under fire, and you need to rescue them,” Przygocki said. “How can you help them get to safety when you’re being fired upon yourself? It’s a two-handed job at least, but with the drag strap on the vest, you can haul them out one-handed.”

Przygocki added that Capt. Mike Stringer, who remains off-duty after sustaining injuries while responding to an April 2 car crash, could have avoided some of the chest trauma he incurred, if he’d been wearing such a vest.

AVOIDING TRAUMA

“It could have prevented his ribs from being broken,” said Przygocki, who also recalled an attempted water rescue at Sandy Shore Lake in 2015 that could have gone better if the deputy hadn’t had as many layers of uniform to remove and secure, before diving into the water. “It’s that many less extra steps,” he added, removing the vest in a single movement.

When Przygocki modeled another uniform combination with the vest, featuring a khaki shirt made of breathable material and separate green uniform pants, the citizens advisory committee voiced their approval for the color alternation, between the green and the khaki, which they felt looked less military.

“Khaki is the traditional color of sheriff’s deputies,” Sheriff Dave Stanko said.

Przygocki is currently the only deputy wearing the vest, for a testing and evaluation period, but the uniform committee has unanimously signed off on the proposal to make the vest an option for all deputies.

“I’m unsure as to who will want to wear these as a uniform option,” Przygocki told The Leader later. “If every deputy decided to wear one, it would be 23 vests total. I can tell you there has been a lot of interest within the patrol division, and even deputies who wouldn’t wear them still support the idea.”

The vests run roughly $200 apiece, which Przygocki expects could likely come from the deputies’ own pockets.

Stanko encouraged members of the public to email him about which uniform-and-vest combination they’d prefer to see deputies wearing, along with their reasons why, at dstanko@co.jefferson.wa.us.