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Known as "Donut Boy," Tyler, who is visiting police departments across the country in order to express his gratitude to law enforcement in person, made a stop at the Fairfield Police Department Friday, Chief Anthony Manna said.
“It was our department’s great pleasure to host Tyler and his mom during their time in Fairfield. Tyler is an amazing young man with a great spirit who certainly provides law enforcement officers around our country with great inspiration,” Manna said.
In 2016, Tyler decided to buy some donuts for four police officers he spotted near his Florida home. That one small gesture inspired the 11-year-old to go even bigger: "I decided that I wanted to give donuts to all the cops in America," he wrote on a Facebook page dedicated to his effort.
"One day I want to be a cop and protect the world too, so this is very important to me!"
Accompanied by his mother Sheena, Tyler spends his school vacations traveling the country to hand out donuts to local police. And while he's aware that meeting each of the nation's millions of law enforcement officers isn't possible, Tyler has just about achieved a more practical goal, having given out more than 80,000 donuts while visiting police in 45 states on his way to hitting every state in the country.
Hawaii, which they'll visit in August, is No. 50 on their itinerary, Manna said.
Manna met Tyler and Sheena earlier this week at the National Police Defense Foundation Dinner in New York and invited him to visit his department in West Essex. The two managed a stop in Fairfield on their way back from Connecticut before returning home to Florida.
“We wish him and his mom all the best in their quest to visit all 50 states," Manna said.
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