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WINTER HAVEN | Wearing a protective vest is now mandatory for Polk County deputies as a result of a spate of shootings in recent years that have injured and killed officers.

The vests have long been optional at the agency, in part because many deputies find them to be uncomfortable beneath their polyester uniforms in the heat. During the summer, it can sap a deputy's energy, Sheriff Grady Judd said (Photo).

"They are uncomfortable to the point of debilitating," he said.

But to make the mandatory-wear policy more palatable to deputies, the agency is distributing new vest covers that allow deputies to wear the armor outside their uniforms.

Deputies can more easily open them to cool down.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office made an initial purchase of more than 750 vest covers in June, paying for them with about $95,000 in court-awarded money seized in drug investigations.

They have since purchased more and are currently in the process of distributing them to deputies.

Deputies can still wear their old vest covers if they prefer, as long as they are wearing something.

Judd said he began mulling the decision after an increase in shootings, including the June 2010 shooting of Deputies Mike Braswell and Paul Fairbanks III.

Both were wearing protective vests when a bicyclist they stopped in Lakeland suddenly opened fire on them. Braswell's wife urged Judd to make vests mandatory.

Judd assembled a panel of deputies of various ranks to research the idea and r­ecommend what the agency should do.

"I wanted to give everyone the opportunity to be heard," he said. "I didn't make this decision in a vacuum."

Detective Jessica Daniel, one member of the panel, said there were varying opinions but they quickly concluded that vests should be mandatory.

An agency survey found that 80 percent of deputies questioned would prefer to wear vests outside their uniform.

Holding true to a promise to her family, Daniel has always worn a vest, she said.

But it's also for her fellow deputies.

"Not only does that vest save my life if I get shot, but it allows me to help somebody else," Daniel said. "If I get shot, I'm of absolutely no help to my co-workers."

Braswell used to argue with his wife about whether to wear the vest. Since the shooting, he is rarely without it.

He's still waiting for his new cover, he said, but other deputies are responding positively.

"I think it's wonderful," he said.