SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. – Officials in Sarasota County are answering the call for help and sending hundreds of ballistic helmets and other law enforcement supplies to assist Ukranians as they attempt to fend off Russian military forces and stay alive.
“Just an absolute tragedy. It will probably get worse before it gets better,” said Sheriff Kurt Hoffman, as America watches the horrific mind-numbing and unjustified invasion taking place in Ukraine.
SSCO announced that more than 340 of their ballistic helmets have been packed and are ready to be shipped to Ukraine, FOX 13 of Tampa Bay reported.
Retired ballistic helmets being sent to Ukraine. (Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office)
“As an FBI National Academy alum, I am hearing the struggles of our Ukrainian FBI National Academy graduates (police officers) as they fight for freedom in their country,” Hoffman wrote in a letter.
The sheriff said that images of “women and children fleeing” Ukraine prompts people to find ways to assist in whatever capacity is feasible.
“We all want to do something, however small, to alleviate the death and destruction caused at the hands of Vladimir Putin,” Hoffman emphasized.
Hence, the sheriff has authorized hundreds of expired ballistic helmets from the agency’s surplus inventory to be sent to Department of Defense contractors, FOX reported.
“These helmets are rotated every five years under manufacturer standards, however, they are currently being requested and graciously accepted” by the Department of Defense, Hoffman noted.
These helmets would otherwise have been destroyed, Hoffman said. Along with many other donations, they will be “distributed to citizens fighting in the streets.”
DOD has a goal of sending more than 50,000 helmets in addition to other law enforcement supplies to Ukraine in the coming week, the sheriff said.
“When you think about our country and having the democracy and freedoms that we’ve had for over 250 years, to see another country fight for what we’ve already fought for and in some countries take for granted, it’s emotional to watch those folks with handguns and rifles and some wearing ballistic helmets similar to this in the street fighting, toe to toe with the Russian aggression.” Hoffman said.
