CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Three Nitro police officers are taking legal action to improve safety for the hundreds of West Virginia police officers they say have defective bulletproof vests.

Nitro Police Chief Jack Jordan, Capt. William Javins and Officer Craig Nutter filed a lawsuit Thursday in Kanawha Circuit Court against the Toyobo Co. of Japan, one of the world's main suppliers of body armor material, and Ronk's Uniform Center, the Huntington store the officers say sold them the defective body armor.

"Basically, we want to ensure that the police officers in this state are all retrofitted with non-defective vests," said attorney Scott Segal, who is representing the officers.

The Nitro officers are seeking unspecified damages in their lawsuit, which alleges that Toyobo and Ronk's breached warranties, violated state consumer laws against deceptive marketing, were negligent and committed fraud.

Police have questioned the quality of body armor made from Toyobo's Zylon-brand fabric after a Pennsylvania policeman was injured in 2003 when a bullet pierced his Zylon-based armor.

Toyobo has acknowledged that Zylon gets weaker when exposed to light, heat and moisture. And federal Department of Justice researchers said 10 of 20 used Zylon-based body armor jackets they tested could be pierced by a bullet.

Lawsuits have been filed against two companies that made Zylon-based body armor, leading Second Chance Body Armor to file for bankruptcy protection in October and American Armor Holdings, Inc., to recall some body armor models.