Sgt. Chris Johnson's career started with a trip to his local military surplus store in 1995.
He became a police officer in Chesapeake, and then bought a Vietnam-era flak jacket for his new job.
Johnson is now a commander for the Training Division of the Charleston Police Department. He said several officers purchased their own body armor in recent years, specifically when it comes to protection against rifles.
Monday evening, Charleston City Council members approved the purchase of about $114,000 in vests, bullet-resistant plates, equipment pouches and medical trauma supplies for the department.
The decision came - coincidentally - on the one-year anniversary of a shooting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
A man armed himself with a rifle and then ambushed police on July 17, 2016, killing three officers and wounding three others.
Johnson said police departments across the country are starting to consider rifle-rated body armor for their patrol officers.
"If they would have had that type of armor, they could have stopped before they got close to the scene, put that rifle protection on and, who knows, it may have made a difference," he said.
Johnson began to consider stronger body armor after another tragedy, in Dallas, where a rifle-wielding man killed five officers and wounded seven others.
In a test reminiscent of the show "MythBusters," Johnson and his co-workers recently pushed a series of bullet-resistant plates to the their limits. When in use by an officer, the plates are held by a vest.
The team clamped rifles to a table and then fired them with the pull of a 100-foot paracord.
A nearby chronograph measured the speed of each bullet, and a ballistic shield protected the officers from shrapnel.
Ballistic standards from the National Institute of Justice require all body armor to stop a bullet fired from 50 feet away.
Johnson said most police officers find themselves within about 20 feet of their attacker. With the worst-case scenario in mind, his team shot the plates from a distance of 15 feet.
"Some plates didn't hold up," Johnson said. "I'm sure they probably would have at the testing levels of NIJ standards, but not our standards."
Five companies sent the department free sample plates, and Johnson said one company has reigned supreme, thus far.
Whereas certain bullets ripped through other products, the same bullets left only a small dent in plates from the company HighCom Security Inc.
"We even tested Level 4 plates, which is the highest level of protection and what we have now, or what we're getting now; it surpassed that," Johnson said.
Still, Johnson had a few suggestions for HighCom. He spoke with the company's president in the evening, and a new prototype arrived by mail the following day.
Johnson's main concern was spall, a word for the shrapnel created when a bullet impacts an object - such as the metal plates.
"When the bullet hits the metal, it fragments," he said, "and those fragments are high-velocity little shards of metal, just like a grenade."
The company again sent Johnson several prototypes, after another round of tests and suggestions.
He said the result is a plate that could meet his department's high standards for the new armor.
Mike Bundy, the president and chief operating officer of HighCom, said Johnson's tests are gaining attention at law enforcement agencies in West Virginia and surrounding states.
Bundy said Johnson's input helped his company create a final product that officers in Charleston can wear with confidence.
"Although we're a for-profit entity, our No. 1 focus is protection," he said. "We build a lifesaving product, so we really try to work hard with our partners to deliver a solution as quickly as we can."
HighCom, a name that reflects the term "high command," started 20 years ago in the Bay Area of California.
Bundy said the company sells body armor to customers throughout the world. Its main operations are now based in Columbus, Ohio.
Although sales of rifle protection have remained steady, he said, the demand from law enforcement has increased up to 30 percent in recent years.
When Johnson purchased body armor in 1995, he showed the same concern his fellow officers have felt for decades.
Now, Bundy said, falling prices and evolving technology make stronger body armor an option for entire agencies, not just SWAT teams.
"In the last two to three years," he said, "we've seen a major increase in demand for this type of protection, and rightfully so."
Reach Giuseppe Sabella at giuseppe.sabella@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5189 or follow @Gsabella on Twitter.