BERLIN – The Maryland State Police (MSP) has entered into a pilot program with Hardwire LLC to use the company’s Police Vehicle B-Kit door armor on a select number of police vehicles.
On Monday, Gov. Larry Hogan, MSP Superintendent Colonel William Pallozzi and Hardwire announced that some state police vehicles will be outfitted with bulletproof panels made in Pocomoke.
This will be the latest venture for the Pocomoke-based company, which manufactures protective gear for various agencies around the country.
Emily Tunis, president of Hardwire, said the door armor provides discrete exterior protection for state troopers.
“It essentially provides blended protection,” she said. “It’s a unique way of adding extra protection for the officer in the car.”
The company’s Police Vehicle B-Kit door armor is a bulletproof panel that attaches to the outside of a vehicle door. Tunis said the panel gives police cruisers an added layer of armor that matches the color of the vehicle.
The door armor will be used on 12 state police vehicles, according to Tunis. After a certain time period, the pilot program will be evaluated.
She said that in recent years, Hardwire has transformed its military products into ones that law enforcement can utilize.
“We’ve taken this technology and adapted that to law enforcement,” she said. “Hardwire has implemented this technology on thousands of police vehicles around the country.”
For example, in the last year Hardwire has also entered into a contract with NYPD to outfit its vehicles with bulletproof doors.
“Police officers are out doing their job on a daily basis and need as much protection as they can get,” she said. “The more protection we give officers, the better.”
Tunis explained that Hardwire’s ability to add a safety feature without retrofitting a vehicle makes the product appealing to military and law enforcement.
“We are the only armor manufacture that makes it easy to install,” she said.
Hardwire CEO George Tunis said the company’s technology provides law enforcement with the time and protection it needs.
“Recent events around the country have shown that officers need more layers of protection,” George Tunis said in a statement. “Armor buys critical time to assess a situation or survive an attack. It saves lives.”
