Nonprofit, local residents donate new body armor to sheriff’s office

Posted 5/25/21

Patrol deputies with the Park County Sheriff’s Office are receiving 21 brand new sets of body armor — gifts from a Colorado nonprofit and local donors.

Thanks to a fundraising effort …

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Nonprofit, local residents donate new body armor to sheriff’s office

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Patrol deputies with the Park County Sheriff’s Office are receiving 21 brand new sets of body armor — gifts from a Colorado nonprofit and local donors.

Thanks to a fundraising effort led by the group SHIELD616, the deputies were presented with some $50,000 worth of gear during a May 16 ceremony at Cody Bible Church.

“The deputies were both thrilled and humbled by the donations — not only the amount of donations, but how quickly and without hesitation that they were received,” said Charla Baugher Torczon, a spokesperson for the office, calling the gift “amazing.”

Each sheriff’s deputy received a set of gear produced by Angel Armor, a company based in Fort Collins, Colorado. Each custom-fitted set, valued at around $2,400, included a RISE 2.0 vest with Truth SNAP plates and a Revision BALTSKIN VIPER A3 helmet.

The body armor is a dual, rifle-rated, multi-hit capacity vest. It’s light enough that it can be worn all day if needed, but has the convenience of being an outer vest, so it can be removed during a shift. The helmets, meanwhile, were specifically designed for law enforcement officers and rated to the National Institute of Justice’s Level IIIA protection.

The body armor will eventually expire, but SHIELD616 intends to continue to raise money so the equipment can be replaced every five years — at no cost to the deputies or the sheriff’s department.

The nonprofit partners with donors to provide rifle-rated body armor to law enforcement officers and other first responders. Former Colorado Springs police officer Jake Skifstad, who had to respond to two different mass shootings during his career, founded SHIELD616 in 2015. Since then, the organization has provided equipment to thousands of officers across the country.

“This incredible gift was all made possible by the generous community of Cody Wyoming!” SHIELD616 wrote in a Facebook post. The organization specifically thanked the Dyk family, Cody Paw Spa, Muscle Car Motors, Customs Chemical Solutions, Love’s Gifts, Buck’n Horse Electric, other community members and Cody Bible Church.

“Pastor Levi Robinson has 44 years of service as a pastor and is retiring ...,” the organization said. “Making sure these deputies were protected was the last thing he wanted done before he retired and he got it done!”

Skifstad spoke at last week’s presentation in Cody, highlighting the importance of local community support for law enforcement and sharing his own experiences in responding to two active shooting scenes; those experiences led him to found the organization.

The sheriff’s office was appreciative.

“A law enforcement agency is, and should be, a reflection of its community, its community standards, and the citizens themselves. Thank you to everyone, for donations, tournaments, food, cards, and the kind words that have been received,” Baugher Torczon wrote in the news release. “The Park County Sheriff’s Office is extremely grateful for this community, that has never failed to show support.”

On its webpage, SHIELD616 notes that, across the country as a whole, feelings toward police have changed in recent years.

“Instead of throwing up our arms and complaining, we have chosen to be light by supporting peace officers and first responders,” the page says. “We do this by up-armoring them with all-day rifle protection, praying for and encouraging them daily, and rallying community support.”

The group draws its name from Ephesians 6:10-11 in the Bible, which reads, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”

SHIELD616’s public tax filings, collected and published online by ProPublica, show the organization has grown rapidly in recent years: Revenue jumped from $440,210 in 2016 to nearly $4 million in 2019, the most recent year for which data is available.

Of the $3.98 million in donations that SHIELD616 raised in 2019, the documents show about $3.32 million went to equip 2,000 law enforcement officers and firefighters across multiple states; another $1.07 million went toward salaries and benefits for the organization’s seven employees, advertising, bank fees, travel and other expenses.

The tax documents show that University of Wyoming and Laramie police departments were among the beneficiaries of SHIELD616’s grants in 2019. More recently, the organization has partnered with communities to donate sets of armor to police in Torrington and Cheyenne and sheriff’s deputies in Teton County.

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