Officer Dies as Stab-Proof Vests Sit in Storage

CHINO, Calif. – The Chino Institution for Men had more than 300 stab-proof vests sitting in storage when Officer Manuel A. Gonzalez was knifed to death in January, officials recently reported.

Officials had decided not to distribute most of the vests until they had enough to outfit all of the correctional officers, about 900 employees, in part because of the union’s concerns about providing unequal protection to the officers.

The prison placed an order to the California Department of Corrections (CDC) early last year for more than 900 stab-proof vests, enough for every officer, but the prison received only 362 vests in September, said Chino spokesman Capt. Kevin Peters. The prison submitted a request for the remaining vests in December.

Gonzalez was allegedly stabbed by an inmate in the Chino prison's reception center, which is often occupied by prisoners headed to maximum-security areas. After the slaying, the vests were distributed to correctional officers who patrol the maximum- and medium-security wings at Chino.