Great Barrington — The town’s Police Department has obtained multiple Vector Personal Protective Barrier shields to assist with its law enforcement. According to Chief Paul Storti, the department purchased 10 shields for $26,000, which was approved at the annual town meeting.
Storti told The Berkshire Edge that the shields, which are portable and made out of metal, were purchased from Vector Protective Barrier company in Boston. “Previously, we had several swatting calls that we had to respond to at the schools,” Storti said. “The officers went in and we had some of those large, big shields to protect us. We discovered in a debriefing that some of our officers were responding to calls without any protective equipment. Purchasing these shields is another tool to help ensure the safety of officers responding to these types of calls.”
Storti said that the department purchased enough shields for each of the department’s cars. “The nice thing about this is that the shields are all portable,” Storti said. “You can sling it over your shoulder and it’s not like those big 40-pound, heavy-duty barrier shields.”
As described on the company’s website, the barrier shields are intended to be a non-aggression de-escalation tool designed to create safer interactions between the public and police officers. “In the sense that when somebody sees [the barrier shield], their focus will be drawn to it and it might make them change their mind in becoming violent towards the officer,” Storti explained. “We want to make sure that the officer is going to be able to respond safely, and have the right equipment to protect themselves so they can help other people.”
Chief Storti said that the protective barrier shields help the department respond to calls involving people with autism. “People with autism have certain triggers and behaviors that they may display,” Chief Storti said. “If an officer is unaware of that, they can interpret that behavior as aggressive towards them. But that behavior is a coping mechanism for that person.”
Chief Storti said that when an officer holds a barrier shield, a person with autism’s focus will be drawn to it. “When somebody sees that their focus is going to be drawn to the shield,” he said. “It may make them change their mind as far as you becoming violent towards the officer.”
Chief Storti added that the shields will help officers protect the community. “My job at the end of the day is to make sure that the community and the officers are safe,” Chief Storti said. “This is a way of de-escalating situations and will benefit our department and the community.”
He added that other departments in Berkshire County, including Lenox and North Adams, previously purchased the shields for their officers.