About the Helmet That Saved an Orlando Cop’s Life

After the Pulse Nightclub attack ended, the Orlando Police Department released the above image of the ballistic helmet that saved an OPD officer's life.

“Pulse shooting: In hail of gunfire in which suspect was killed, OPD officer was hit. Kevlar helmet saved his life,” the department said on its Twitter account, June 12.

The helmet was confirmed by its manufacturer today to be a Revision Batlskin Viper A3 Helmet.

Reached by phone this afternoon, a spokesperson for Vermont-based Revision Military said the company is saddened by the violence in Orlando, but proud that its product was able to protect a life..

The spokesman said the company used the serial number of the helmet to identify the date, time and shift that made the helmet, drawing a direct link between the people that made the helmet and the life that was saved.

The damage to the helmet reveals its aramid construction, shown by the yellow, woven material at the center of the bullet strike. The blue areas show a coating that covers the ballistic core, and the gray material is likely a base coat of paint uncovered as the helmet's polymer edging was pushed down by bullet fragments. The hole above the bullet strike is a screw hole, drilled at the factory and provided as a place to mount a night vision device.

Given the time of night the Orlando police officers took action, it's likely there was a night vision device, or at least a plate mount for a device, in place that blunted some of the impact of the bullet and was shorn away.

According to the company's website, the $370 Viper helmet offers NIJ IIIA protection, stopping 9mm NATO, .44 Magnum and .357 SIG rounds and meeting the U.S. Army Standard for impact protection. Revision's description of the helmet does not claim it can stop .223 Remington, the rifle round reportedly used by Omar Mateen.

The Viper is very similar to the US Military issued Advanced Combat Helmet, though there are minor differences that permit Revision to sell the Viper on the commercial market.

Photos courtesy Orlando PD and Facebook.

You can follow Revision on Instagram @revisionmilitary or find them online here.