The Safariland SAVES program isn’t just a list of names — it’s a testament to lives protected and second chances granted. Each member has a story, a moment when the right gear made all the difference. This series will introduce you to those stories.
The Safariland SAVES CLUB® highlights individuals who put their lives on the line in the line of duty and, in turn, had their lives saved by their gear. Today, we highlight John Calhoun, SAVES #1899, whose Safariland ABA HP02 Level II Body Armor protected him when it mattered most. His story is one of resilience, duty, and the life-saving performance of the gear he trusted.
BACKGROUND
Officer John “JD” Calhoun is an officer with the Houston Police Department in Texas. At the time of the incident, he had been on the job for about seven years.
On a hot afternoon on Wednesday, August 13, 2014, he and his partner of 2.5 years received a call that would change both of their lives. That day, they were assigned to patrol the Greenspoint neighborhood—an area known among officers as “Gunspoint” due to its high volume of violent calls. The dangers of their beat were nothing new—just months earlier, in January 2014, Calhoun had been involved in a shooting following a robbery and carjacking in the same neighborhood.
THE CALL
The pair received a call from a local resident reporting a suspicious person waving a pistol around at a bus stop. Being the closest unit, they responded.
At first, John didn’t think much of the call—this particular location was a common gathering spot for day laborers. What stood out, however, was the highly detailed description of the subject the resident provided, setting it apart from the norm.
Since they were only a few blocks away, they were on the scene quickly. As they passed the location heading northbound, they quickly spotted the subject, thanks to the caller’s meticulous description. Parking their patrol vehicle in a nearby lot, they doubled back to the location in question. Other individuals at the scene pointed toward the suspect, further helping John and his partner to identify the subject.
The subject in question was a Hispanic male, approximately 5’5”. As they approached, John’s partner began speaking to him in Spanish. According to John, his partner is more of the “talk it out” diffuser type, while John is the muscle of the two.
John’s partner issued commands, trying to get the man to comply. Meanwhile, John noticed a backpack between them and the suspect. The man gestured as if he didn’t understand but made no effort to follow their commands. Instead, he bolted toward the backpack, grabbed it, and took off running. From the way he snatched it, John suspected a pistol was inside.
John Calhoun is a very tall man, about 6’6”, so he was able to catch up to the subject quickly and bodycheck him into a nearby tree. They rebounded off the tree, ending up chest to chest. John attempted to subdue him by picking him up at the waist to get him on the ground.
Suddenly, John felt an explosion against his left side, but he didn’t immediately register it as a gunshot. In the struggle, the suspect had managed to retrieve a .380-caliber pistol from the backpack and fire.
John glanced down, instinctively checking the source of the pain. When he looked back up, the suspect had the pistol aimed directly at his head. Reacting quickly, John moved to knock the gun away, but in the scuffle, the barrel struck him across the bridge of his nose.
As the struggle escalated, his partner shouted, “Gun! Gun! Gun!” and jumped onto the suspect’s back. John then attempted to tackle both of them to the ground. As they fell, the suspect managed to reposition his pistol, and the next thing John knew, it was pointed under his partner’s chin. The suspect tried to pull the trigger with both index fingers.
Fortunately, during the struggle, the magazine had ejected from the suspect’s pistol, causing it to jam so he couldn’t discharge a round. Seeing the immediate threat, John drew his service gun and neutralized the suspect. The suspense went limp and his partner grabbed the suspect’s gun and threw it out of arm’s reach.
Immediately, both officers secured the scene, cuffing the suspect and calling for assistance. Dispatch records show John reporting the incident, saying, “City Officer. Shots fired. He popped me, but I got him back.” He knew he had been shot but assumed the round hadn’t hit him squarely, allowing him to escape serious injury.
Still feeling pain in his side, John asked his partner to check the area since his gear made it difficult to see. His partner assured him he was fine. To double-check, John swiped his hand across the area that hurt but saw no blood. As backup units arrived, he pulled aside the first unit and asked them to take a look because the pain was still, as he put it, “stinging like crazy.” Instead of answering, the officer immediately got on the radio, saying they needed to get him to the hospital now.
Standing in confusion and disbelief, John started shedding his gear to get a better look at the area. The responding officer took a picture of the gear to show John, resulting in a viral photo of how his ABA® HP02 Level II Body Armor did what it was designed to do. He continued a full body sweep to make sure there were no more injuries, and the ambulance arrived to take John to the hospital.
Coming from a law enforcement family, John’s parents both worked for the Houston PD as well. So when he called his dad from the back of the ambulance, his father figured he was calling to ask some advice or fill him in on a recent call. Little did he know that John would be telling him he had been shot.
RECOVERY & LIFE AFTER
Thankfully, John’s body armor did its job and stopped the round from entering John’s body. John was in the hospital for three days before he was released to recover at home where he took the next month to further recuperate and heal before heading back to work for light duty.
After his incident, John was allowed to do a 30-day job in another division. Following in his mom’s footsteps, he opted to go for the Major Offenders Unit (think high-profile cases like the Tom Brady jersey theft from the Super Bowl).
Working under his mom’s old Sergeant, John opted for a second 30-day rotation. From there, John worked back into patrol and has been in that division ever since, for a total of roughly 18 years with the Houston Police Department. Most recently, he took the Sergeants test, placing 73 out of 490 officers, and should hopefully be promoted soon.
While John’s professional life seems to have gone pretty smoothly after the incident, his personal life suffered. As if almost living a country song, John’s struggled with survivor’s guilt. While his injuries weren’t as severe as they could have been, he couldn’t help but reflect on how many others across the nation weren’t as lucky after experiencing a shooting in the line of duty.
John focused on his well-being, and with the support of his family, the SAVES CLUB®, and countless others, he came out the other side. In 2015, he spoke at the annual Safariland SAVES event at SHOT Show. While attending the show again in 2019, he proposed to his then-girlfriend, now wife, and together they have built a beautiful family.
LAST NOTES
According to the vest standards at the time, the shot that hit John should have been a failure—but miraculously, it wasn’t. He was invited to Jacksonville, where the vests are made, to meet the Safariland crew, share his story, and connect with other SAVES CLUB® members to hear their stories.
Before John’s incident in August 2014, Houston PD had a general order allowing officers to opt out of wearing their vests if the heat index was over 100 degrees. John first learned about this policy a year before the shooting while talking to another officer who wasn’t wearing his vest. Thinking, “No, dude. I’m not going to do that,” he’s grateful he stuck with his instincts. As his mom later put it, “Better hot than shot.” (Houston PD has since changed the order, now requiring officers to wear vests at all times.)
