Rice County Sheriff's Office Donates Gear To Ukraine

RICE COUNTY, MN — The Rice County Sheriff's Office announced that it has joined the Minnesota Sheriff's Association and other sheriff's offices across the state in collecting supplies for Ukraine as the country defends itself from Russian forces.

Across the state, 900 bulletproof vests, 75 helmets and four shields were collected to send to Ukrainians, and of that, the Rice County Sheriff's Office said it donated four standard ballistic vests and one tactical ballistic vest that had recently expired. When vests expire according to Sheriff's Office standards, they are usually thrown out, officials said.

Although the vests had been replaced for deputies, Rice County Sheriff's Office said they will still help protect Ukrainians.

"When the MSA reached out to all of the sheriffs in the state I felt this was a worthwhile cause," Rice County Sheriff Jesse Thomas said. "If we had items that could help protect war victims in Ukraine then we should do what we can to help out. When our ballistic body armor expires we usually take it to the landfill and witness it get buried in the pile of garbage. The donation of our items didn’t cost us anything and it kept them out of the landfill."

The Minnesota Sheriff's Association said that it has a contact connected to Ukraine who will ensure the supplies go to those in need.

"All over our state, Minnesota sheriffs rose to the occasion once again to help those in need," Minnesota Sheriffs’ Association Executive Director Bill Hutton said. "As we all watch the terrible images coming out of Ukraine, we are reminded that freedom is never guaranteed. These bulletproof vests, helmets and shields will travel across the globe to protect the people of Ukraine, just as these items protected our deputies all over Minnesota."