Retired South Windsor Police Sergeant Honored

From the South Windsor Police Department:

South Windsor Police Sgt. Tom Field (retired) was recognized on Thursday, (Nov. 6) with the Safe Kids Connecticut Excellence Award at the Safe Kids Injury Prevention Conference.

Sergeant Field was trained in 1997 as a certified Child Passenger Safety instructor. Tom was then instrumental in bringing the issue of Child Passenger Safety to the State of Connecticut. He committed himself and the people he trained to spread the word about the importance of Child Passenger Safety.

This small group of individuals worked together to train other child advocates to install car seats correctly, and from only three technicians then, the group has grown to twenty certified Instructors and several hundred certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians in Connecticut. Tom established one of the first weekly fitting stations in the state.

The primary purpose of the Child Passenger Safety program is to educate as many caregivers as possible about the correct use of car seats in order to improve the chance of survival, and to decrease the chance of injury during a crash.

This program was established to provide education as a free service to caregivers in order to reach that goal. The free weekly car seat clinics continue to be held and South Windsor continues to assist about 15 to 20 caregivers each Wednesday, and installs about 1300 car seats annually.

Even in “retirement” Tom continues as an advocate for Child Passenger Safety by teaching the importance of Child Passenger Safety to caregivers who have been found transporting children in an unsafe manner. He also continues to volunteer his time at the South Windsor fitting station most Wednesdays.

Our congratulations to Sgt. Field for the recognition he deserves for almost two decades dedicated to Child Passenger Safety.