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By chance, Polish cop helps Lech Walesa with flat tire in Tolland, CT

In this photo provided by the Connecticut State Police, Trooper Lukasz Lipert shakes hands with former Polish President Lech Walesa on Interstate 84 in Tolland, Conn., on Wednesday, May 11, 2022. State police said Lipert responded to the call of an SUV with a flat tire, and was greeted by Walesa, who had spoken in Hartford on Tuesday as part of his U.S. tour advocating for aid for refugees who have fled Ukraine during the war with Russia. (Connecticut State Police via AP)
AP
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Connecticut State Police
In this photo provided by the Connecticut State Police, Trooper Lukasz Lipert shakes hands with former Polish President Lech Walesa on Interstate 84 in Tolland, Conn., on Wednesday, May 11, 2022. State police said Lipert responded to the call of an SUV with a flat tire and was greeted by Walesa, who had spoken in Hartford on Tuesday as part of his U.S. tour advocating for aid for refugees who have fled Ukraine during the war with Russia.

TOLLAND, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut state trooper who is a native of Poland got quite the surprise while responding to a call about an SUV with a flat tire Wednesday — a passenger in the vehicle happened to be former Polish President Lech Walesa.

State police said Trooper Lukasz Lipert arrived at the call in Tolland and was greeted by Walesa, who had spoken in Hartford on Tuesday as part of his U.S. tour advocating for aid for refugees who have fled Ukraine during the war with Russia.

Lipert, 35, who came to the U.S. when he was 18, told The Hartford Courant that he spoke with Walesa in Polish about their homeland and the anti-communist movement Walesa helped lead.

“It was definitely a great opportunity to meet the man who had a voice during those times,” Lipert said. “It was definitely a great experience."

Walesa, 78, led the nationwide Solidarity movement in Poland in the 1980s that eventually toppled Poland's communist leaders through an election in 1989. He received a Nobel Prize in 1983 and served as Poland's first popularly elected president from 1990 to 1995. He is a strong critic of Poland's current right-wing government.

A vehicle service worker changed the tire and Walesa continued on his way down I-84. One of his next stops is an event in Boston on Monday.

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The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

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