Bulletproof vest was difference between life and death for LPSO deputy

An officer with the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office who was shot in early December is back at work and received a bulletproof vest last Wednesday at an LPSO staff meeting.

On Dec. 5, Sgt. Roland Guillot and Deputy Bridget Rupe were shot while executing a traffic stop on La. 1, just north of Raceland.

Guillot returned to work roughly three weeks ago, while Rupe has returned to work on “very light duty,” the sergeant said.

Normally, when an officer is shot while wearing a bulletproof vest, the vest company replaces it free of charge. “It means a lot,” said Guillot of receiving the vest. “I don’t have to purchase another vest. The vest company comes and replaces it for free.”

The vest that Guillot was wearing when he was shot is currently in evidence. “Hopefully, when it gets out they’ll give it to us and we’re going to put it up at patrol,” said Guillot. “If we get our hands on it, we’ll put it in a case.

“The bullet’s still in it,” he added of the vest.

During the two months Guillot was away from work, he says he never stayed away from the job, often visiting co-workers and keeping abreast on the happenings off the office. “The several weeks that I was laid up, I kept going to the academy and (different offices), and people started getting tired of seeing me,” he said. “Because I didn’t want to be away from the profession.”

During that time, he said he spent time talking to new cadets and recruits at the academy. “I went in there, myself and Bridget,” he said. “We made a PowerPoint in reference to the whole incident that took place. We got pictures and we talked about body armor. I got pictures of the body armor that I had on that day. I flat out told them that you’re stupid if you don’t use it, because it saves your life.”

Guillot was wearing his vest that morning because of a promise he made to his wife when he rejoined the force. The only way he could become an officer, he said, was if he promised to wear his vest whenever on patrol.

If the sheriff’s office provides, and pays fully for a vest, the officer is required to wear it whenever in uniform. If an officer pays for half of the vest, it is optional to wear. If an officer purchases a vest himself, it does not have to be worn at all.

“If I would not have had the vest,” he said, “it would have taken my lungs out and probably the lower portion of my heart.”

Contrary to what some would think, Guillot says the shooting does not deter or effect him while patrolling. “The first thing I did when I got back is jump right back in the saddle and start doing traffic stops,” he said. “It wasn’t a problem at all. I got right back in it and didn’t even think about it. No nightmares.”

He said another officer rode with him for his first few days back. “That way if something would have happened, and I would have actually had to draw my weapon again, it’s not like they’re going to say I did it … to start with.”

Doing the work he loves is a return to normalcy for Guillot, he says. “Back on the road,” he said. “Back on the saddle … doing my job.”