BATON ROUGE, LA – At just 7-years-old Officer Levi Russell takes the vow to “protect and serve” very seriously, with an emphasis on “protect.”
The Baton Rouge area boy spends his free time helping to raise money to provide local police officers with extra safety gear.
And, so far, the area’s smallest officer has made a large difference.
A Facebook page called “Officer Levi’s Adventures” shows how Levi’s fundraising has already helped law enforcement. It says he’s contributed to purchasing specially designed vests for at least 14 officers, that could be potentially lifesaving in dangerous situations.
In article in local newspaper, The Advocate, describes how the 7-year-old changed career tracks at the young age of 3. Originally, Levi wanted to be firefighter before tragedy struck.
In 2016, a man ambushed Baton Rouge police officers. Traveling from Kansas City, Missouri to Louisiana, Gavin Long spent his 29th birthday savagely murdering law enforcement officers. He went on a shooting rampage that killed two police officers and a sheriff’s deputy.
The brutal attack changed Levi’s mind about what uniform he’d like to wear when he grows up.
The Advocate reports, in the days after the shooting, Levi’s grandmother baked bread for a police officer who lived down the street. During the delivery, the officer gave the boy a patch from one of his uniforms.
After that, Levi quickly became a familiar face in local precincts, trying to be as close as possible to his hometown heroes.
In 2018, his Facebook page says he started to raise money for Angel Armor bulletproof vests.
The company says its mission is to serve law enforcement by “offering market-leading proactive solutions that protect officers in every situation” and using “advanced technologies” to make products that allow for efficient and effective responses.
Now, it’s become Levi’s own mission to get that technology to as many officers as possible.
On Monday, he added another officer to that list.
A Facebook post said that he outfitted Deputy Katelynn McKenzie Sittig with an Angel Armor vest.
The post reads:
“The whole team thanked her for all that she does and for keeping us safe!! She was pleased and can’t wait to work her shift tomorrow in her new vest!! We were so proud to be able to help her with this AWESOME gift!!”
In an interview with local news station WAFB, a retired officer who is married to another officer said she is especially grateful for Levi’s work. She said she knows how dangerous things can be in the field. Terri Whitt said:
“It’s really important because not only does it provide better protection for officers even maybe a higher level one than the ones that are issued, but there are a lot of agencies out there who are limited to funding and they’re not able to purchase vest.”
WAFB reported that she and other police officer wives put together a back the blue rally, and in the process raised $2,500 for Levi’s cause.
After the rally, another officer’s wife told the news outlet:
“We want to do everything that we can to along with Officer Levi to make sure that these officers do get home safe to their families, and what better way to provide them with extra protection. The sound of that Velcro coming off at the end of the day when your officer is home is the best sound in the world.”
That donation will help purchase two or more vests for officers.
If you would like to support Officer Levi’s cause, you can find more information on his Facebook page by clicking here.
Editor note: Law Enforcement Today has a special relationship with Angel Armor. In case you missed it from 2018, here’s why:
Company Owners: We Just Wanted To Save Police Lives
(Editorial by Kyle S. Reyes, National Spokesman for Law Enforcement Today)
“I don’t understand. You guys don’t have to work. And yet here you are, having launched another successful company, putting in 60-hour weeks. Why?”
“It’s simple,” said Josh. “We wanted to save police officers’ lives.”
And this is how my friendship with two patriots – Josh and J.C. Richardson – began.
You’ve probably heard of their family’s company: Otterbox. It was started in their parents’ garage and went through some incredibly difficult times before achieving its current level of success.
But this isn’t a story of business. It’s a story of faith. Of dedication. Of respect. Of love for others.
It’s a story of two young Christian men who decided they wanted to save lives. It’s a story of what putting service above self can do.
A few months ago, I was having one of those days. You know the kind of day I’m talking about. Putting out fires all over the place. Unnecessary meetings. Dealing with people who, if it were socially acceptable, I probably would have throat punched.
“Dear God,” I prayed. “Give me a sign that I’m moving our companies in the right direction. Help me know that I’m serving You and doing Your will.”
(Photo courtesy DanSun Photo Art)
Fifteen minutes later, the phone rang.
“Hey – this is Kirk. I know you don’t know me. But I want to fly you out to Colorado so my company can honor you for the work you’re doing to support law enforcement.”
The name of the company?
Angel Armor.
Ok, God. I’ve got you. Message received.
Flash forward. I walk out of the hotel the first morning to be greeted by a guy with a big smile. Jeans. T-shirt. The kind of guy you’d sit and have a beer with.
“Hop in, brother,” he said. “We’re so humbled and honored to have you here.”
I had no idea who he was. Seemed like one of the boys. I immediately felt a connection to him.
We chatted in the car for about half an hour. Talked about faith. Business. America. Patriotism. The war on police. The need to protect them.
AntiFa protesters January 20, 2017. (Flicker)
I had no idea I was with one of the co-founders of Angel Armor.
When we arrived at their headquarters, I met his brother, J.C. He was hanging out with a group of police officers from across the country.
He greeted me with a warm handshake.
“Come on over, brother. It’s such an honor to have you here. I can’t believe you came. I want to introduce you to my father.”
Who was I? I’m just a guy who believes we need to change the narrative in the media. I’m simply a patriot who believes our law enforcement officers need more support. And here these incredible people were honoring ME.
It was humbling, to say the least.
“Let’s go shoot.”
(Photo courtesy LET reader)
Over the next couple of days, I got to hang out with police officers who are in the thick of it. Police widows who lost their husbands. The Flint Police Department, featured in the new show Flint Town on Netflix. Incredible men and women doing amazing things.
Then… I shoot at cops. Sort of.
We put the Angel Armor product through extensive testing – trying our best to destroy it.
And we couldn’t.
“This is how we save police officers lives, brother.”
Josh and J.C. didn’t bring me out to sell me on a product. They didn’t bring me out to get my agency to start promoting Angel Armor. They didn’t do it for endorsements – as a matter of fact, they never even asked for it. And we never talked about doing business together.
This isn’t a sponsored article or anything like that. I’m writing this from the heart because I found two people… and an entire company… that is truly focused on protecting those who hold the thin blue line… and do an unbelievable job at it.
They did it because, in their minds, not enough is being done to provide support and a powerful voice for our officers across the country.
I’m sold. The fact that their product blows away anything I’ve ever seen is the icing on the cake.
It’d be great to see more companies start not with the mission of making money, but rather with a goal of saving lives.
In the meantime, those who do… sure do deserve our respect.
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