Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman Thomas Gallagher died of injuries he sustained nine months earlier when he was struck by a horse-drawn fire engine.
Patrolman Gallagher was on traffic duty at the corner of Myrtle and Fulton Avenues in Brooklyn. A fire alarm had been sent to the corner of Adams and Fulton Streets, just blocks away. Just as the fire engine came to the intersection, a group of people got off a streetcar to transfer to another one. The people did not see the fire engine and Patrolman Gallagher got out into the street and pushed them out of the way. As he was pushing the people to safety, the horses pulling the fire engine swerved and Patrolman Gallagher was knocked down. Both of his legs were broken by the wheels.
Patrolman Gallagher was taken to Brooklyn Hospital where he underwent several surgeries in an attempt to save one of his legs. After several weeks the doctors decided that they would have to amputate one of his legs. After the amputation, Patrolman Gallagher fell ill and eventually died as a result.
Patrolman Gallagher had served as a patrolman in New York City for 20 years and was assigned to the Brooklyn Traffic Squad.
He was survived by his wife.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-9F848960- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
20 years. You could have gone home.
Patrolman Gallagher gave the New York City Police Department 20 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the New York community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Gallagher.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman Thomas F. Gallagher is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,756 officers honored here.
In NY, 645 of 2,147 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30% of this state's fallen. That is 30 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
At New York City Police Department, 283 of 1237 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 22.9% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Thomas F. Gallagher's cause is highlighted.
How Thomas F. Gallagher Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Thomas F. Gallagher is highlighted in Feb.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
1,236 officers from New York City Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
