Senator Grassley Recognizes Aaron Westrick in Whistleblower Day Speech

Washington, D.C. August 3, 2018. On July 30th, Senator Charles Grassley gave the keynote address at the National Whistleblower Day Celebration hosted by the National Whistleblower Center. During his speech, he praised body armor whistleblower Dr. Aaron Westrick whose disclosures of unsafe bullet-proof vests made with Zylon fiber undoubtedly saved hundreds of police officers’ lives. He told the crowd of over 250 attendees, “Because of whistleblowers like Dr. Westrick, the False Claims Act is the most effective tool we have to fight government fraud.”

Senator Grassley authored the modern-day False Claims Act, which allows whistleblowers who disclose fraud against taxpayers to share in the government’s recoveries. On Monday, Sen. Grassley spoke to the significance of whistleblowers like Westrick who serve the public interest. “When you don’t listen to whistleblowers like Dr. Westrick – that’s when the regrets come. Because of Dr. Westrick’s remarkable courage, the product was pulled from the market and no doubt countless lives were saved.”

Dr. Westrick also spoke at the event telling the crowd about his own experience of being shot in the line of duty only to be saved by his body armor. “You have to know that your equipment is going to do what it’s supposed to do,” he said. After blowing the whistle, he was subjected to retaliation and harassment.

Dr. Westrick filed a case in 2004 under the qui tam whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. His qui tam lawsuit would become one of the most hotly contested False Claims Act cases in American history. Sen. Grassley told the crowd, “This year, Dr. Westrick’s case finally came to an end when all of the defendants settled. When that happened, Dr. Westrick said: ‘I lost my job and career. I have no regrets. I would blow the whistle again.’”

On July 31, the Whistleblower Summit for Civil and Human Rights (Summit) presented Dr. Westrick with the Frank Wills & Martha Mitchell Pillar Award for Whistleblowing. The award is given to whistleblowers who have faced retaliation and put everything on the line to positively impact the community even after experiencing severe adversity. The Summit recognized Dr. Westrick for his courage in exposing the truth about defective bullet proof vests and his former company’s decision to cover it up.

Learn more about Dr. Westrick’s False Claims Act case: Highly Contested Defective Bullet Proof Vest Case Ends in Victory for Whistleblower

Read Senator Grassley’s National Whistleblower Day Address: Whistleblowers Deserve Our Profound Gratitude Aaron Westrick and attorney Stephen M. Kohn

• Watch: Dr. Aaron Westrick’s National Whistleblower Day speech