WEST CHESTER TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Managing expected crowds of 80,000 people is no small feat, so West Chester police relied on a new tool to help at this year's first-ever "Voices of America Country Music Fest.”
Each officer working the festival donned a light-up vest.
“These are awesome,” said West Chester Police Chief Joel Herzog. “We'll be using these all the time.”
The department has been using the LED light-up vests already for safety during traffic control — not crowd control.
“We've never had something of this magnitude four days in a row,” he said.
In one incident this weekend, Herzog said the vests assisted officers while an individual was having a diabetic episode.
“As we walked through the crowd, people start clearing away because they see a glow coming behind them,” he said. “It was like parting the sea.”
The vests were born locally about four years ago, invented by Wyoming police officer Don Campbell.
“There was nothing out there to protect us, so I basically made it myself,” Campbell said.
He was inspired to take action after an officer in Colerain was hit and killed on the job.
“All of our cars, everything on our house, they are so bright that when you stand in front of them, you're just a black outline,” he said. “So, that's how I created it.”
While the product was initially intended to assist with road safety, he’s seen more departments using it for events like this over the last year or so.
Fans at this weekend’s festival have taken note.
“At night it’s great because it was like, easy to be like, ‘Okay, they're on the edges or they're walking through making sure everyone's really safe,’” said Dani Smith, who attended the festival three nights in a row.
Herzog said this event has changed the way the department plans to use the vests going forward.
“It's just been a fabulous event,” he said. “I look forward to coming back.”
Voices of America Country Music Fest will return next year between August 9-11.
You don't have to work in law enforcement to purchase one of the vests. You can order them online here.
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