Stamford Police Donate Body Armor To Ukraine

Stamford CT

04 April, 2022

3:10 PM

Description

STAMFORD, CT — As the war wages on in Ukraine, people around the world are looking for ways to help. Locally, the Stamford Police Department is stepping up to do its part in helping Ukrainians in the fight against Russian forces. The SPD, in conjunction with the Wilton Police Department, recently donated 15o ballistic vests along with helmets to Ukraine. Officer Anna Futyma of the SPD wanted to help in any way she could after watching events unfold on television. A friend of hers who has a travel agency in Stamford said ballistic vests are one of the most needed items. Futyma sent an email around the department asking for donations, hoping to collect maybe 10-15 vests. She ended up collecting about 75. A friend with the Wilton Police Department said they were considering donating equipment as well. The two departments collaborated with LOT Polish Airlines, who transported the equipment to Poland for delivery into Ukraine. Some of the vests are ones used by the department's Special Response Team, which can withstand higher caliber artillery. Other vests were unused and expired by the manufacturer, but still useful and functional. Futyma, who is of Polish descent, felt compelled to help out. "I still have family in Poland. I have friends there. I was talking to my friend there on the phone the other day and you can hear the commotion and everything with all of this going on," Futyma said. "If I'm not here, I probably would have been there. You just feel some kind of urgency, some kind of need to help out." <span id="selection-marker-1" class="redactor-selection-marker"></span> Other police departments in Fairfield County made similar donations in recent weeks. Departments from Brookfield, Darien, Easton, Greenwich, Monroe, Norwalk, Stratford, Trumbull, Wilton, Westport and Western Connecticut State University donated more than 200 previously used ballistic vests and helmets.