NAPO FILES $77.5 MILLION+ LAWSUIT OVER BULLETPROOF VESTS

NAPO FILES $77.5 MILLION+ LAWSUIT OVER BULLETPROOF VESTS

Ft. Meyers, Florida, April 7, 2004--The National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) and Lieutenant Scott Ashby of the Sanibel Police Department filed a national class action suit against Armor Holdings (NYSE:AH), Toyobo, America, Inc. and Toyobo Co., Ltd. (Toyobo Japan) for sale of defective body armor to more than 100,000 persons, agencies and entities all across the United States at an average price of $775. NAPO filed suit in Michigan State court against another manufacturer, Second Chance that utilizes Zylon® in their vests. It should be noted that Second Chance discontinued the sale of two of its vests, ULTIMA® and ULTIMAX® and has issued free "Performance Pacs" to its customers because as Second Chance's President stated "Unfortunately, for all involved these results indicated unexpected decrease in the Zylon® fiber strength."

The petition claims that the vests represented and warranted to have certain qualities and performance characteristics, which, in fact they do not have. "It's a travesty to have men and women who risk their lives everyday in an effort to make our lives safer, to have been misled and given a false sense of security by depending on a vest that is ineffective," said attorney Michael G. Crow. The petition currently seeks compensatory damages in the amount of $77.5 million with Crow stating that "if counsels' suspicions are confirmed the complaint will be amended to seek punitive damages in the amount of treble compensatory damages."

About NAPO: NAPO is a coalition of police unions and associations from across the United States that serves to advance the interests of America's law enforcement officers through legislative and legal advocacy, political action and education. Founded in 1978, NAPO is now the strongest unified voice supporting law enforcement officers in the United States. NAPO represents police unions and associations whose law enforcement officers are located across the country including: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Dallas to name a few. NAPO also represents almost half of the sworn law enforcement officers in the country plus 11,000 retired officers and more than 100,000 citizens who share a common dedication to fair and effective crime control and law enforcement.

Additional information: The Special Report "Status Report to the Attorney General on Body Armor Safety Initiative Testing and Activities" dated March 11, 2004 can be downloaded here.