Local company saving lives with ballistic vests

POCOMOKE, Md. – Working in law enforcement, life can change in the blink of an eye. But to Sergeant Erik Bullock, putting his life on the line for the city of Philadelphia as a member of SWAT is worth it.

Sergeant Bullock saw his life flash before his eyes on April 30th, 2023, when he was shot twice during a violent barricade incident.
But he lives to tell the story, thanks to the ballistic vest he was wearing.

“We finally decided to make entry into the house, and we were breaching the door that led to the bedroom that he was in. He started firing a shotgun through the door; I took the blast underneath my right arm and my cummerbund, so my cummerbund took 90% of that blast,” Seargent Bullock said.

Sergeant Bullock is just one of 10 officers who were saved in the last 14 months by gear manufactured by Hardwire LLC.
Five of them came to the company’s headquarters in Pocomoke to meet the team behind the vests, including Officer Anthony Huizar, who survived a nearly fatal traffic stop gone wrong in Sparks, Nevada.

“I was shot in the shoulder-chest area, and I didn’t even know,” officer Huizar said. “I was shot there, so that kind of shows the dedication to them and the product that they’re putting out.”

Hardwire CEO, George Tunis said his products are responsible for hundreds of lives saved every year. He started the business in 1998, out of his garage. Since then, it’s expanded to provide life-saving equipment to agencies around the world.

“To go from the garage to this has gone way beyond me, and it’s really the team that matters, and the incredible people we’ve been lucky enough to meet and attract and make home here, in Worcester County,” Tunis said.