For those of you haven't heard.  Last night one of our own was brutally attacked while working an off-duty security detail at Kroger.  Sgt Gail was stabbed/cut at least 7 times and is currently at St. Mary's in critical condition.

Two other officers and myself chased him for a while and he was caught after chasing him on foot for a while after he was sprayed with OC.  

Any prayers or well wishes would be greatly appreciated for all of us that are having a tough time dealing with one of our own getting hurt.  Especially pray for the family of Sgt Gale.

A fund has been set up at a local Suntrust branch for those willing to make a monetary donation to help in Sgt. Gale's recovery.  She has a long road ahead of her and by no means is she out of the woods yet.

SunTrust Bank
Attention: Heidi Spratlin
1022 Prince Ave.
Athens, GA 30606.

News Article

RAFFLE THREAD


I editted the title, Kyle.  We need everyone to read this and donate whatever they can.  - Mark

Quoted: Did the perp fall up some stairs on the way to the lockup?

Myself and the other officer that caught the suspect were working undercover doing Robbery Suppression so we were in an undercover car so one of the other officers had to transport.

From what they told me earlier while I was at the hospital, they said that had to give her 16 units of blood since they brought her in last night.  I know a lot of the other officers, friends, and family were donating blood right and left.

I'm not sure what kind of blood she needs, but I'm sure if you were willing to give, if it wasn't used for her, then it would go to someone else in need.  

Prayers sent and I'll send some $$ that way too.  She have family (husband, kids)?

And this is why I couldn't be a cop.  That perp would have been delivered to the county lockup in two or three garbage bags.

Mark

FWIW, the news reported that an officer tackled the suspect.  No one tackled the suspect.  We chased him and he turned around at which point he was sprayed with OC.  He dropped the knife and went to the ground where he was handcuffed.

Guys, I just got an e-mail from a good friend who happens to be a LEO, although not with Athens.  I cannot give details of the e-mail because I'm not at liberty.  My friend is a member of the board here and I'll let him post whatever he thinks is appropriate.

What I can tell you is that this officer is in bad shape and money is an issue.  Since she was working a part-time job (to help pay bills!) and was not on duty...  Well, you figure that one out.

This officer needs money in the worst way.  Her family needs the financial help like you cannot believe.

What I am asking each of you to do is think about this season and what it means.  It is about giving from the heart.  It is about helping others.  How much moeny do we all spend on our guns and ammo?  We can all spare a little.  Please, give what you can in this woman's most urgent time of need.  Keep the prayers coming too, but also dig into your wallet for what you can spare.  Skip that next meal out and donate what you would have spent.  Every penny counts!

And get the word out.  Make others aware.

Thanks.

Mark

Prayers out.

I cross-posted info in the Brothers of the Shield area.  Kyle, please let me know if you think any of this should be removed.

This was part of the e-mail I got from a LE friend:

"Last night, I spoke with Det [name removed] who has been updating me on Sgt
Gale's condition. The Det told me that the doctors discovered that Sgt Gale
has suffered 5 strokes. The ramifications of those strokes are unknown at
this time due to her induced coma. Det said that Kroger has been
supplying the family with plenty of food and what they need most is money to
cover the expenses of her treatment and staying by her side. Sgt Gale must
use all her accrued leave, then use short term disability. She is not
covered by the Athens-Clarke County workers compensation because she was
injured working a part-time job. Some of Sgt Gale's family live out of state
and are paying for rooms at the local Hampton Inn. The closest relative
lives 20 miles from the hospital and is having to take leave without pay to
be by her side. If you can, please donate to the Courtney Gale fund by
visiting any SunTrust bank (more information is below)."

Then this e-mail was forwarded to me by the same friend.  He got it from a LEO who is very close to Sgt Gale and is at her side now.  So sad.  

*****************
As I sit here tonight typing this email, a friend that is very dear and
close to me is lying in a hospital intensive care unit fighting with all of
her might to survive a brutal attack, and I cannot sleep. Some of you have
already heard her story, but many of you haven't. I can't keep up with
everyone that I've talked with in the past 24 hours. Some of you I don't
know very well, and I'm not sure how you ended up in my address book other
than we must have had some correspondence in the past. I've tried to filter
this email so it goes to fellow law enforcement and my close friends only,
but it's okay if you don't fall into either category. The story that follows
is about a hero's need.

Sgt. Courtney Gale, an Athens-Clarke County police robbery homicide sergeant
that I work very closely with, was working an extra duty job at a local
supermarket when she encountered a man with a knife. On Tuesday December
11th at about 9:20 in the evening, that man stabbed Courtney repeatedly with
a the large "butcher like" knife - the blade was shoved into her body ten
times. I know Courtney well - I imagine that everyone in the store was
trying to get away from the man with a knife while Courtney was running
towards him.

Courtney lost a massive amount of blood in the attack. A nurse who saw the
scene unfold estimated that Courtney lost 2 to 3 litres of blood as she lay
on the floor bleeding to death. The average human body contains only 2.7 to
3 litres, and Courtney is small -- that estimate may be a little high. But
that nurse was certainly in a better position to estimate than me.

Like I said, it was a very brutal attack. Some of the wounds punctured
Courtney for the entire length of the blade. Courtney suffered substantial
injuries to her left leg, right arm, back and shoulder.

Courtney didn't have an opportunity to use her radio to call for help. As
she fought for her life, all she could do was push the panic button on her
radio.

Some brave people in the grocery store went to Courtney's aid, fought the
attacker off, and chased him until responding police officers could catch up
to him. They chased him across a busy roadway with five lanes of traffic,
behind a shopping center, and into a dimly lit parking lot.

While this chase was underway, that nurse that I mentioned earlier took
charge of tending to Courtney's wounds. The nurse used a customer's belt to
put a tourniquet on Courtney's severed femoral artery. A severed femoral
artery can kill in mere minutes. The nurse directed customers to retrieve
supplies off the store shelves to use in the heat of the moment. She slowed
the flow of blood down enough to keep Courtney alive.

You can imagine the chaotic scene that was unfolding. While the nurse was
trying to hold Courtney's life together with paper towels, a belt and the
other implements she had at hand, every police officer in the jurisdiction
was racing into the area not really knowing what had happened. They knew
little more than a fellow officer was down.

Observant responding officers saw silhouettes running through a dark parking
lot. The silhouettes were those of some supermarket customers chasing the
suspect. In an incredible display of professionalism, three Athens-Clarke
County patrol officers, all of them thinking that Courtney might be dying at
the hands of the suspect they saw before them, used the minimum force
necessary to take the suspect into custody. The human condition in me wishes
they had killed him, but I'm very proud of the professionalism those
officers displayed. They controlled their emotions and did the job they are
sworn to do. That's exactly the way Courtney would have wanted it done.

I talked to that heroic nurse in a lengthy conversation tonight. She said
that when she bent down to assess Courtney's condition, her eyes were open,
glazed over, and she didn't look conscious. Courtney had her radio up to her
mouth and she uttered one word that the nurse could barely make out,
"ambulance." She didn't move or say anything else that made the nurse think
she was conscious until a fellow police officer bent down in a recognizable
blue uniform a few minutes later. Courtney articulated one word perfectly,
"muscular." That's all she had left in her, and she was trying to describe
her attacker. In her mind she may have said a complete sentence, but all
that came out was "muscular."

A pair of paramedics was close by when the call went out that a police
officer was down. The two paramedics raced to the supermarket and did a
"snatch and run" -- they quickly delivered Courtney to a hospital that was
close by, St. Mary's. An awesome emergency room staff was ready for her
arrival.

To everyone that reacted on Courtney's behalf, you are my heroes!

Those of us that heard about the incident raced to the hospital. We may have
broken a few traffic laws in our haste to get to Courtney's side -- I'm
sorry Chief Lumpkin, I felt guilty when I did it, but I couldn't help
myself. There wasn't anything we could do but stand outside the emergency
room entrance by the ambulance and pray. Hospital staff were congregating at
the windows of the hospital tower watching us in bewilderment. There must
have been about a hundred of us holding hands in a circle praying together.
It was a terrible thing to experience, but it must have been an awesome
sight to behold and I'm sure God was listening.

Courtney's surgeon gained control of her vascular system over the course of
3 tenuous surgical sessions. Her blood pressure, heart rate, respiration,
and circulation stabilized over the course of the next 24 hours.

Tonight, she is critical but, by the account of every medical professional
I've talked to, stable.

Courtney still has some surgery ahead of her. The surgeons will have to open
her up again and clean up some of her wounds, but the initial hurdle of
keeping her alive was overcome with a lot of heroism, skill, and miraculous
intervention.

You don't have to be a medical professional to know what the recovery risks
are. Her attendants say that if she continues along a path of improvement,
she is going to keep all of her limbs, but the doctors say that she may have
suffered brain damage as a result of the trauma.

Courtney is a strong young woman with a lot of fight in her. Everyone that
spends any amount of time with Courtney quickly realizes that she rarely
succumbs to other people's predictions for her -- she almost always exceeds
the expected. She's taken on this attack in the same "Courtney style" that
we all respect and love her for. The RN sitting by her side last night said,
"I've never seen anything like it. I'm monitoring the circulation and
temperature of her injured leg, and that leg might be doing better than the
uninjured one -- it's like she's trying to show off."

Courtney has a long recovery ahead of her, but today I'm confident she is
going to survive and recover. Despite the confident attitude I displayed, I
wasn't so sure Tuesday night.

She has a tremendous physical battle to fight. And she's got a tremendous
mental battle ahead of her. It's going to be a LONG, LONG process.

Everyone that I've talked to has asked, "What can I do?" There are three
things you can do for Courtney:

1. Pray for her.

2. Put together some substantial words of encouragement. The medical staff
says Courtney is going to be in a drug induced coma for a while. She won't
be able to take any calls, have any visitors, watch tv or read. She cannot
receive flowers in ICU. She can hear, and she seems to respond to familiar
voices. Her mom asked that we put words of encouragement in writing so that
she can read them to her. Email me your words and I'll see that they are
placed in her mom's hands.

3. Send some money to her fund. Courtney is going to have diminished income
and extensive expenses as a result of the attack. If we all step up, we can
eliminate her financial burden completely. I don't want Courtney or her
family to worry about her financial concerns -- I want them to focus all of
their efforts on Courtney's physical and mental recovery. Few people get
rich in the business of law enforcement, and Courtney is with the majority.
She is a woman of limited financial resources. Collectively as her law
enforcement brethren we can make a huge difference for her well being. I
hope that you will rally behind her. She would never ask for the help, but I
will. Everyone should give to her.

I would like to see more money than she will ever need arrive in the mail at
SunTrust, the bank that has a special fund established for her. In the
unlikely event that she gets more than she needs, I'm certain of Courtney's
impeccable character -- she will turn any excess funds over to another
brother or sister in blue that needs the help.

In this season of giving, write a check out for Courtney. And I'm not asking
for a little check -- when you are trying to decide how much to send, it's
not enough until it causes you to wince a little bit. I know it's a tough
time of year to think of giving, but do the right thing and give a little
back to a person that has given so selflessly of herself to help protect
others. I'm going to make my check out right now. My household will put a
little less under the Christmas tree this year, but I'll be blessed for my
benevolence and you will too.

Donations can be made to "The Courtney Gale Account Fund" at the SunTrust
Bank, Attn: Heidi Spratlin, 1022 Prince Avenue, Athens, GA 30606.

Thank you for the tremendous outpouring of goodwill that I know you will
show!

She is still struggling but she's hanging in there.  Kroger has really stepped up to the plate in accommodating all the family that had to come down.  

Sgt Gales has gone through 16 pints of blood, which if I remember correctly was furnished by the Red Cross.  So it is important for everyone to go to their local Red Cross center and give blood.  Keep in mind that it probably won't be used for Sgt. Gale, but it will be there for the next person who desperately needs it.

The different shifts on the westside of town have arranged it so that there is at least 1 officer there at any time during the day.  When we go to work, each officer goes and stays with the family for about an hour when they are relieved by another officer.  This continues around the clock.

Yes, everyone keeps saying that we should have killed the guy.  Trust me, the thought crossed our mind.  When we were chasing him, it felt like deja vu all over again from the last shooting that I was involved in.  However, we had to be the strong ones and do what was right .  We were able to detain him by using OC spray.

Just keep praying and keep giving whatever you can.  This is the season for giving.  Let's show what them the power of ARFCOM.

Kyle, you guys did right.  You were the bigger people for it too.

Anything else the family needs right now other than prayers and financial aid?

Mark

Quoted: Kyle, you guys did right.  You were the bigger people for it too. Anything else the family needs right now other than prayers and financial aid? Mark

The financial aid is the part that they will need the most in the long run.  Sgt. Gale has enough leave to get her through until about April.  Some of the guys at work have been helping the family at Sgt. Gales house in terms of building a wheelchair ramp and taking care of all the animals.

Kroger is helping alot with the hotel expenses and providing food for the family.  It doesn't seem like that she will be eligible for any work comp claims through the county since she wasn't on the county's payroll at the time(eventhough she was in uniform).

I am considering doing a raffle for an AR or other firearm in her honor, and all proceeds will go to her fund or assist the family in some manner.

I have a gently used EOTech 551 that I will sell for the cause.  It is in great shape and works well.  I have the box and the large thumb screw for it.

I will give 100% of the money to her family.  If you pay $300, she gets $300 and you get an optic.

Who wants it? ...and how much will you pay?

Quoted: Quoted: I have a gently used EOTech 551 that I will sell for the cause.  It is in great shape and works well.  I have the box and the large thumb screw for it. I will give 100% of the money to her family.  If you pay $300, she gets $300 and you get an optic. Who wants it? ...and how much will you pay? $300 is too cheap. $400, let me know where to send the $

WOW!  That is awesome!  Unless someone wants to go higher, I will close the deal with cohutt and get the money down to Sgt Gale.

May God have mercy on her and her family.  May He give them the strength and courage they will need to follow this path.  May this event serve in some way to elevate God and allow us to know His love and compassion.  May we accept Christ's sacrifice as sufficient.

If you would like to make a contribution, or donate an item for a raffle please let me know.  If it is okay with site staff.  I'll set up a paypal account for donations as well, and I'll get it to the family.

Quoted: Bookhound, with your permission I will spearhead a separate Raffle thread if there is any interest.

My dear friend, that would be great.  Please do so.  I will contribute to it.

God bless ya and an extra prayer tonight for Sgt Gale.

Mark

Quoted: Bookhound, with your permission I will spearhead a separate Raffle thread if there is any interest.

Already done.

Link

As of Tuesday evening (121807), Sergeant Gale continues to be listed in "critical, but very stable" condition.  Courtney experienced an uneventful night.  Monday she was placed on a dialysis scheduled, but her sedation level also has been lowered.  The really encouraging news is she has reacted to stimulation and we believe that is certainly a positive sign!   We all continue to be encouraged by her resolve.  Again, our understanding is that the planned treatment anticipates a significant period of recovery and our support as well as her determination is key to her recovery.  

Courtney's loving family continues to express appreciation for the overwhelming outpouring of adoration and concern expressed by her ACCPD family, the ACC family, Kroger, and the general public.  We all request that everyone continue to pray mindfully for her recovery.  Again, in my opinion we should continue to pray and hope for continuously, daily, and incremental improvements in Courtney’s condition.   The notes and email messages from her friends and concerned citizens are encouraging to her family members and also members of the Athens-Clarke County Police Department.  Sergeant Gale's family is reading those handwritten and email messages to Courtney at her bedside.  So, please continue to support her with your encouraging comments that stimulate her brain activity.  Courtney remains in excellent medical and familial care!

****UPDATE*****

It has been 21 days or exactly three weeks since Sergeant Gale suffered extensive, life threatening injuries.  After visiting at the hospital this evening, it is obvious that Sergeant Gale is making timely and encouraging progress!  The family reported Courtney was actually rolled down the hall this afternoon in a wheel chair and got to see those on the fourth floor waiting room.  Also, her word utterance (three or four at a time) abilities are improving.  What a wonderful New Year's gift from Courtney!  Please continue your prayers for Courtney and her continuous improvement.  Below is a pasted message posted this afternoon by Courtney's family.

God Speed


       TUESDAY, JANUARY 01, 2008 03:55 PM, CST

Today the nurses and physical therapist helped get Courtney into a chair, so she could be in a sitting position for awhile. Some discussion of rehabilitation facilities has begun, but dialysis is an issue for the foreseeable future. We hope that the New Year will bring her more healing and continued recovery.