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The TIMES-REPORTER D-8 WED., Jan. 13, 1982 DOVER-NEW PHILADELPHIA, OHIO BY RANDY WYNN T R Washington Bureau WASHINGTON — The increased use of bulletproof vests by police officers and politicians including President Reagan has spawned an effort in Congress to outlaw a vest piercing superbullet invented by three Ohio men. With the support of law enforce ment groups including the Ohio State Highway Patrol, a New York City congressman proposes to outlaw the so-called KTW bullet, formerly pro duced by a Lorain firm, along with its host of imitators. The bullet, which features a low friction Teflon coating, was developed during the late 1960s by former Lorain County coroner Dr. J.P. Kopsch, deputy coroner Don Ward, and former Lorain County deputy sheriff Dan Turcus. KTW manufactured the bullets in Lorain between 197] and last year, when it sold production rights to a Pontiac, Mich. firm, according to information collected by the staff of Rep. Mario Biaggi (D-N.Y.). In a test reported by United Press International, a .357 magnum KTW bullet fired from a distance of 20 feet easily penetrated four thicknesses of the most commonly used bulletproof vest and then continued through five large-city telephone directories. KOPSCH AND his partners say they invented the bullet for use by law enforcement officers, in order to give them an advantage in shoot-outs with criminals. But Craig Floyd, legislative assistant to Biaggi, says that because there is no federal law restricting the sale or purchase of the ammunition, KTW bullets have become relatively easy for anyone to obtain. “We in no way question the intent of KTW, or that it has done its best to keep the bullets in the right hands,” Floyd said. ‘‘But there is just no foolproof method to restrict sales to police officers.” The first step in Biaggi’s strategy to outlaw the bullet is a bill ordering the administration to compile a list of ammunition capable of piercing bulletproof vests. A second bill would prohibit the manufacture, sale, or possession oullets on the list. New bullets would be tested by the gov ernment before they could legally be sold. Although Biaggi’s bill to control KTW-type ammunition has been around since 1980, it has gone nowhere in the House Judiciary Committee. The congressman is, counting on the recent spate of na tional publicity about the bullets to provide impetus for enactment of the bills later this year.
Newspaper Details
Dover Times Reporter
Dover, Ohio, US
Wed, Jan 13, 1982
Page 28
Full Page
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USA 16 Jun 2026
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