The Schenectady Police Department, Rosen's Uniform Center and Point Blank Body Armor awarded plaques to Officers Jeremy Pace and Thomas Kelly. The two were shot as they executed a search warrant on Maple Avenue in February. As Sabina Kuriakose tells us, the officers have their vests to thank for their lives.
SCHENECTADY, N.Y. - "I felt the shock, I heard it push me back," said Schenectady Police Officer Thomas Kelly.
It was a shotgun blast that hit Kelly in the chest. That same bullet first struck Detective Jeremy Pace in his torso before careening into Kelly.
"I didn't even know at the time it happened, what had happened. I thought it was a gunshot," said Pace.
The officers were trying to execute a search warrant at a Maple Avenue home back in February when police said Adrian Parbhudial opened fire. But a situation that could have been tragic instead ended with just a few bruises. The officers' vests still show where the bullet struck. They are military grade bulletproof vests - tougher than the average. On Friday, Pace and Kelly were honored by the police department and the companies that made the vests.
"I wasn't injured, and we had a job to do, and we finished it," said Pace.
Seeing for the first time the vests that saved their husband's lives, the officers' wives remembered the emotion of that night.
"It leaves me at a loss for words, actually," said Kerrianne Pace.
"It was the worst phone call I ever got. But I'm glad he's okay," said Tricia Kelly.
"How do you put that into words? Life is so precious, and so we're just grateful," said Kerrianne Pace.
The department bought the vests back in 2008. They cost about $2,500 - a small sum when you consider for these officers, the price could have been their lives.
The accused gunman, Adrian Parbhudial, has been charged with first-degree attempted murder.