There is an exclusive club within Safariland — one that members hold in honor. With right around 2,240 members, it’s a smallish group, but the enrollment requirement is significant: you must have had your life saved by a Safariland product. The SAVES program honors law enforcement, military personnel, and government agents who put their lives on the line and came back to talk about it.
It was a humbling experience to sit down with a few of these members before the SHOT Show 2025 presentation and feel the easy comradery that these members and spouses have together. As a daughter of a (now retired) law enforcement officer, I understand the uncertainty and danger that come with the job. Seeing these individuals carry themselves in the aftermath — grateful for the products that protected them — is something else entirely.
Each year, the SAVES program enrolls roughly 52 new members—about one life saved per week. Let that sink in. During this year’s SHOT Show, Safariland brought in four members to share their stories, and I was fortunate enough to hear them all.
SGT JOE ANDREOLI & DET JOSH SONTAG
Together, Sgt Andreoli and Detective Sontag have over 30 years of law enforcement service. Sgt. Andreoli has 18 years with Special Operations/SWAT units while Det Josh Sontag has 18 years of law enforcement and 5 ½ years with Special Operations Unit.
On the evening of April 20, 2024, in Boise, Idaho, Ada County Deputy Tobin Bolter initiated a traffic stop, and while approaching the vehicle was fatally shot.
Members from area law enforcement, like Sgt. Joe Andreoli and Det. Josh Sontag, received the call to locate and apprehend the suspect. His vehicle was spotted a short time later after which drones were deployed to spot the suspect, who was located with a hot spot in a backyard area of S. Jackson Street in Boise.
As members of the Special Operations Unit, Andreoli and Sontag were deployed in the area to safely apprehend the suspect and protect innocent residents in the area. The Boise SOU unit was assigned and used a bearcat to come up Jackson towards the suspect’s location. Other LE agencies took up other lines of containment for the suspect.
SOU members left the bearcat, with Sgt. Andreoli grabbing their Safariland PROTECH Entry II X 3P Shield.
Once again, a drone was deployed to get eyes on the suspect. Only this time the suspect noticed the drone and shot at it. Sgt Andreoli explained that residents in the apartment building and area aren’t exactly friendly with law enforcement, so some refused to heed shelter-in-place requests, and as such, one resident came out the back of their dwelling to get a closer look at the drone. Law enforcement used the drone to push the person back inside, but that’s when the suspect tried to head toward the residence to gain access.
Law Enforcement didn’t want the suspect to get inside the building, so they pushed into the backyard as a team with Det. Sontag on the left (as a left-handed shooter) and Sgt. Andreoli in the center of their three-person row. The suspect took aim and fired towards the officers, where Det. Sontag fired six shots, hitting the suspect twice, neutralizing the threat.
In the following 20 minutes, the officers secured the scene and provided medical care to the suspect. Once the scene was declared safe, officers were able to reholster their weapons and take stock of their surroundings. That’s when Sgt Andreoli looked closely at their Shield and realized it had taken a round, one that would have hit at least one of them had the Shield not been there. Sgt. Andreoli credits Det. Sontag with putting the shield in front of him to grab it for deployment as well as being the fastest shot for the SOU.
Both Det. Sontag and Sgt Andreoli agree that during the incident, their families were the first things on their minds, and they wanted to go home to them. They credit their training, muscle memory, and ultimately, the Safariland Shield for helping them achieve just that. Both officers are still with their Department in Idaho.
SGT VALLE
Sgt Mauricio Valle, of the Houston Police Department, has over 18 years of experience on the force. He has done everything from tactical units and drug units to patrol and investigations. He was tasked with creating a unique unit, essentially a hybrid patrol and tactical unit, focusing on high burglary areas in Houston.
On the evening of December 1st, 2023, Sgt Mauricio Valle was conducting routine surveillance with others from his unit within Houston. They had particular suspects’ cars they were looking for and located one in the area near some business. The car continued past the business and went and parked in a nearby hotel parking lot, where the team watched the suspect leave the car and double back towards the rear of the business.
Sgt. Valle took the particular location to scout and sent other units to other possible locations in the area. As Sgt Valle pulled into the parking lot, the suspect hid himself between some pallets and a delivery box truck. Sgt Valle stated the lighting in the lot wasn’t in his favor and actually obscured his view of the lot through his windshield as he tried to turn around to leave. The suspect approached his car during this time and when he was by the front passenger side window, he opened fire into Sgt. Valle’s vehicle.
The first round to impact was a through-and-through in his right bicep and triceps. The next shot went through his right forearm, shattering both bones in his lower arm. As Sgt. Valle was trying to get the car in gear, each shot he was hit with made it harder to do so. He reached across his body with his left arm to release his seatbelt to escape the vehicle.
During the few short seconds from when the suspect opened fire, Sgt. Valle was hit 11 times, with at least one round hitting each extremity.
While Sgt. Valle tried to escape his vehicle, the suspect paused shooting and started around the rear of the car. Valle was able to get the seatbelt to release and exit the vehicle while getting shot in the chest by the suspect. Valle was able to pull his weapon with his right hand and unload his magazine towards the suspect, injuring him, and keeping him from escaping.
In the aftermath, Sgt. Valle knew he needed to stay calm to keep his heart from beating too fast while the rest of his team came to his aid. He was able to calmly instruct different members of his team to successfully apply tourniquets to each extremity and provide aid to the suspect.
In the end, Valle credits his training to help him survive the ordeal, taking seven shots total in both arms and both legs, and four shots to his Safariland vest.
Sgt Valle proved that the proper gear and consistent training helped carry the day. He said he was extremely thankful the purchasing unit got quality equipment, and he showed the effectiveness of it that day. Valle would heal from his wounds, be honored as the hero he truly is, and returned to work with his team just eight short months later.
OFFICER BLAKE COOK
Blake Cook has years of experience within the military and law enforcement realms. During his time in the military, he served with the 82nd Airborne Division, where while deployed in 2014, was injured and received a Purple Heart. Post military, Cook transitioned to law enforcement with the City of Fayetteville, North Carolina. A deeper dive into Black Cook’s life and experiences can be found here on the CADRE Dispatch.
In January 2016, Officer Cook was a rookie patrolman with Fayetteville Police Department. He was conducting what he thought was a routine traffic stop, but it was anything but ordinary.
He had stopped the suspect’s vehicle due to its expired tags, and when he exited his patrol vehicle and approached the suspect, the suspect exited his car. Cook ordered him back into his vehicle but the suspect had other plans. The suspect in question was what Cook calls a large man, easily 6’4” tall and over 300 pounds.
Cook recalls the suspect charging at him and spearing him to the hood of his patrol car. In an effort to escape, he tried to roll over to gain leverage. But the suspect, with the weight advantage, slammed Cook back onto the hood of his vehicle and began trying to get his service weapon out of his holster.
Cook felt the suspect yanking on the gun trying to free it from his holster and was able to disengage the ALS, but thankfully Cook was using a Safariland holster with the SLS system, meaning the additional “hood” was deployed over the weapon keeping it in the holster. (It is worth noting that Cook relayed that he had been advised by some people not to use the SLS while others strongly encouraged him to train with it to be more comfortable with the action.)
During the struggle, Cook’s radio mic was dislodged, making it so he couldn’t call for help in the traditional way. Cook was able to get his hand to his radio unit and push the orange button effectively issuing a SOS call to all officers. During his nearly two-minute struggle with the suspect, he kept praying for the holster’s SLS system to stay in place while thinking of his wife and children at home. Blake Cook credits his Safariland holster with saving his life, calling it “Life-saving equipment.”
Final thoughts
Looking at the crowd that assembled to hear these SAVES speak, it was refreshing to see the support and appreciation for them. From the wives up front during the Idaho incident, to those same wives circling and giving support to Sgt. Valle’s wife during his portion, the membership in the SAVES club is something else. It may not be a club you want to be a part of, but once you are, you’re extremely proud and honored to hold that distinction. And they all give credit to their Safariland products.
