Bullet-proof vests only became a standard part of the RPD uniform in the 1980s.

Until the 1970s, bullet-proof vests were neither issued by the Raleigh Police Department, nor were officers required to wear them. Officers who did choose to have them were obligated to pay part of the cost, and so many chose not to. In 1980, however, Officer Lester Knight was saved from what would have been a fatal shot to the chest by his vest, and soon there was a public call to issue them to officers as part of their standard equipment.