For the second time in his young career, Suffolk County Police Officer Brendon Gallagher fights for his life after being seriously injured on the job.
The 30-year-old Army veteran who fought for freedom in Afghanistan was critically injured recently in a car crash while in pursuit of a suspect who was fleeing the police.
Cody Fisher, who is just one year younger than Officer Gallagher, faces a litany of criminal charges, including driving while ability impaired by drugs, assault, unlawful fleeing, and reckless driving.
The force of the car crash was so severe that Gallagher’s patrol car slammed into a tree on the Long Island Expressway and then overturned. It took responding emergency personnel almost thirty minutes to pull him from the twisted metal of the wreckage.
Officer Gallagher is no stranger to on-the-job danger and serious injury. Just two years ago, he was released from Stony Brook University Hospital after being stabbed while responding to a call about an argument between roommates.
Domestic disputes are some of the most dangerous calls for police officers. Car crashes are also a leading cause of death or serious injury to police officers and now, unfortunately, Officer Gallagher has experienced both. Both incidents caused serious and life-threatening injuries.
Two years ago, Officers Brendan Gallagher and Ray Stock were responding to a call at the Blue Ridge Condo complex.
Gallagher was stabbed in the chest clear through his bulletproof vest. The vest saved his heart and his life.
Officer Stock was so seriously injured that he was put on a ventilator for five days. Stock was stabbed in the neck, chest, and groin and his vocal cords were wounded.
Gallagher and Stock were responding to a call in Medford of an armed domestic menacing suspect. The suspect, Enrique Lopez, was a resident of a home for people with disabilities and mental health conditions and had been causing issues at the condo complex with his behavior.
Lopez attacked the officers with a bowie knife stabbing them both several times. He was shot and killed by the officers during the altercation.
Dr. James Vosswinkel, trauma chief at Stony Brook University Hospital, was the chief then and is still there now treating Gallagher again. He remarked on the strength of the officer and his body fighting hard to make it through what were very serious injuries from the recent incident. He has an extensive injury to his aorta and is currently on life support.
"Officer Gallagher is a hero. This is an officer that, just two years ago, he was stabbed. At that point, he didn't seek a desk job. Instead, he's leading the fight against these thugs that are terrorizing our roads, "said Suffolk County PBA President Louis Civello.