PLATTE WOODS, Mo. — In Platte Woods, the officers who serve and protect now have the protection they need thanks to a generous donation.
Heading out on the road, each day is different for Officer Dave Gallaher.
“Sometimes situations are dangerous,” Gallaher said.
That’s why the most up-to-date equipment is crucial.
“Just being able to know that I can rely on the stuff that I'm wearing, it's all tools that we have at our disposal. Just knowing that it's reliable and it's going to keep me safe, so I can go home to my family at night,” Gallaher said.
Vests are one of the most important pieces of equipment.
“It's eventually going to save our lives in the event of an active shooter or you know somebody just shooting at us,” Gallaher said.
These officers now have the most up-to-date bulletproof vests, and it’s because of donor Robert Cutler.
“To think that officers were in the line of duty without vests that were in compliance with the standards that are required based on expiration dates, they were out there, that their vests wouldn't protect them, it just wasn't something I was comfortable with,” Cutler said.
That’s why the business owner provided 12 vests for the department, an important investment these officers would’ve had to pay for out of pocket.
“It's something I wouldn't be able to afford on my own without saving for quite a while,” Gallaher said.
This can cause officers to wear expired vests.
“Vests don't completely fail when they expire, but they don't offer the same amount of protection. So it can kind of be a gamble when you're wearing an expired vest,” Gallaher said. “I don’t want to gamble with my life.”
Bulletproof vests do have an expiration date and lose about 10 percent of their effectiveness each year after the expiration date.
But thanks to Cutler’s donations, Gallaher and his fellow officers will be able to protect and serve with the protection they need.
“Having support like Bob step up, and do this unsolicited on his own, just out of the goodness of his heart it's an amazing thing,” Gallaher said.
“I hope they never need the protection, but I feel a lot better knowing they have the protection,” Cutler said.
The department stated because of this donation it was able to save nearly $10,000.
