New Look for Fort Lee Police Officers

Monday began a new era for the Fort Lee Police Department with brand new uniforms for officers for the first time in over 30 years. The uniforms are from the company 5.11, a manufacturer of tactical gear for civil and military duty officers. The line of uniforms is new to the company, making the Fort Lee police department the first to officially use them.

Police Chief Thomas Ripoli is happy with the change.

“It’s the first change since 1973,” Ripoli told Patch last week. “These are more practical and more comfortable uniforms. The officers asked for more practical uniforms in these times.”

It was Patrol Officer Nick Orta who was given complete control over ordering the uniforms after he approached Ripoli about the possibility. Orta researched, price-quoted and reviewed possible options for about 10 months before making his decision.

“I presented the changes, and he basically agreed with all of them right away,” Orta said.

The new uniforms are darker in color than the previous ones and are now identical among the different units, with the exception of a patch sewed onto the right shirt sleeve. On the left sleeve is the Fort Lee Police Department patch. In the past, the EMS Unit, Traffic Unit, Patrol Unit and other units each had their own uniforms.

The only difference between patrol officers' and their superiors’ uniforms are the colors outlining the embroidered badges; patrol officers' are silver, and superior officers' are gold.

The new uniform is also lighter and cut to be more comfortable, making it easier for officers to move around beneath the weight of their bulletproof vests and formidably heavy utility belts.

“Now we’re [more] active; we search cars, we’re on traffic pulls, there’s times where we’re on foot pursuits. It’s hard [to do those things] when you have a uniform that’s constrictive,” Orta said.

The uniform is made of waterproof, breathable, wash-and-wear material and marketed as “blood born pathogen resistant” due to the Teflon used in the material blend. The shirt has two hidden pockets that cover the entire chest, as well as two outer pockets. The sleeves are adjustable, making for a more comfortable fit. The pants are cargo style, different from the usual straight-legged models, and have no  stripes down the side. They do, however, have a number of pockets: two on the front, two in back, and two on the legs.

“Nowadays you need [them] for gloves, reports, evidence that you store in your pocket and bring with you,” Orta said.

Perhaps most interesting is that there is no metal to the uniform. Each shirt has the officer’s badge embroidered above their name. The buttons are not silver, they are plastic. There is no “Fort Lee” pin; embroidered on each collar is a silver “FL.” Orta explained that these details were a practical decision for the department; an embroidered badge can’t fall off or be ripped off in the line of duty.

“It can’t be pulled off your shirt and used as a weapon with the pin,” he said.

The signature duty jacket is no less impressive than the shirt and pants. It comes with a removable insulted liner, a removable rain hood and bellow pockets, as well as “hand warmer pockets.” It also removes the need for reflective vests; built into a zippered pouch in the back is a flap with the words “FORT LEE POLICE” in reflective lettering.

The uniforms are designed to fit both men and women. In earlier times, female officers would have to buy men’s pants. The new uniforms offer a female-cut for the pants.

”I took into consideration that it has to be designed for women also,” Orta said. “Most are designed for men and then tailored for women. These are made for women and men.”

Orta explained that the desire for uniform updates is common among officers, who always want more comfortable and more efficient uniforms. He said that although  there are times when leadership doesn’t allow it, in this case, Chief Ripoli was “very open minded about it.”

When the entire department voted on the matter, Orta said the vote in favor of the new uniforms was practically unanimous.

“It was difficult because [I had] to try and appease 90 men and women,” he said.

The new uniforms were purchased at police officers’ own expense, as uniforms always have been. Orta believes they will prove to be more efficient than any of the department's previous uniforms.

”You have to be practical now, you have to be able to adapt with the changes,” he said.