Exclusive interview: Eddie Gallagher and the “Pipe Hitter Foundation” stepping up to protect cops

Exclusive interview: Eddie Gallagher and the "Pipe Hitter Foundation" stepping up to protect cops
Provided

We’ve seen the war on police take many forms these past few years. Whether it’s assaulting police officers, disrespect from the public or defunding the police by politicians, it doesn’t seem to slow down.

But there’s another issue that LEO’s have been facing- bogus charges issued by prosecutors with political agendas under public pressure.

In a recent ‘bogus charge’ case, Officer Dages of the Le Mesa Police Department in California was found not guilty on a clear case of an appropriate use of force. However, he’s still fighting for his job and the nearly $100k he has spent on legal fees. Add that to embarrassment, the loss of colleagues who assumed guilt and the strain it put on his family.

But there’s a ray of light for his, and many other similar politically motivated cases.

The Pipe Hitter Foundation.

The PHF was created by Eddie and Andrea Gallagher to help first responders fight off the corruption that is occasionally involved with criminal cases against law enforcement officers.

The Eddie Gallagher Case

Eddie’s case was quite fascinating itself.

Chief Gallagher was a career Navy Seal with a long history of success accompanied by numerous medals for valor from fighting on the battlefield.

But his career nearly ended with him in prison for allegations of illegally killing an ISIS fighter. Charges were filed by an overzealous prosecutor who was clearly looking to make a statement and to boost his political and personal career.

The case quickly fell apart (that story here) and Chief Gallagher was found not guilty on all 7 charges except one for taking a photo of a dead enemy fighter.

Eddie tells LET:

“Obviously, looking back, I wouldn’t have taken that picture with a dead body. Even though that’s been done a million times before like that’s business as usual over there.”

Eddie spent nine months in jail awaiting trial but the case made it’s way to Donald Trump’s desk. Trump ordered Eddie to released from jail pending the trial outcome. The time spent in jail more than covered the punishment for the lone menial charge.

Because of his frightening experience of nearly being victimized by the broken system, Eddie and his wife Andrea sought out to help others, particularly LEO’s in similar situations and founded the Pipe Hitter Foundation.

Eddie said:

“We support active-duty law enforcement and first responders if they are put in a situation where they’re being unjustly accused, or unjustly treated by whatever system they’re going through. We will advocate for them. Through our process [and] what we went through, we made a lot of good connections with some of the media out there, and some really good congressmen.”

He continued:

“We also put out the facts. As you know, the media distorts the truth. They take out context, as you see in the Dages case. I mean, they smeared the officer within 48 hours, taking out the context of what was really in the video.

So we will use our social media platform and also the media to actually put out the facts of the case like, Hey, this is what’s really going on. That way people can get the facts and then critically think for themselves instead of being told what to think by certain media outlets.”

Mainstream media has a long and disturbing history of crucifying people before all the facts come out. Too many media platforms primary focus is to sensationalize a story in a desperate plight to get ratings and sell papers. This dynamic has only worsened with the law enforcement profession.

Eddie tells LET:

“I think officers have it 1000 times worse than we do because you guys are operating within the United States that are doing the job on a daily basis. Especially in today’s environment, you can see they are turning the villains into heroes, and the heroes into villains. And you watch it on the media all the time. It’s absurd.”

But Eddie and Andrea are hopeful. They understand the public opinion is teetering on the line between good and bad but remain fully optimistic.

Eddie said:

“They (the general public) need to go and get back to respecting that (law enforcement) job. Respecting what these men and women do for us on the streets every day.” Eddie continued.

“But I’m hoping. It doesn’t seem like it’s getting any better. Right now, it seems like it’s at this plateau. People don’t know whether or not to hate the cops or love the cops.

And I’ll tell you what, we’ve seen it in cities across the country, the ones that are like defund the police, those cities turn to shit. It’s because they don’t have law enforcement. They’re patrolling the streets protecting the people. You need that. So I’m hoping we do a shift here at some point in the future.”

A Call to Action

Every officer that works a shift is only one call away from having their lives turned upside down by being charged by politically motivated prosecutors and a biased media. We pray that every law enforcement officer doesn’t become a victim of the times. But there is a way you can help others, and God forbid, help yourself.

Eddie said:

“If you go to www.PipeHitterFoundation.org, we have a portal set up for donations, but we also have portal set up for each of the individuals that we’re helping. You can donate to a specific individual, or you can just donate to the organization itself.”

Having lived through a life altering experience that nearly and unjustly put him in jail for the rest of his life, Eddie understands just how quickly it can happen. He also understands it can and does still happen to LEOs everywhere.

Eddie tells LET:

“I definitely don’t think the injustices are going to stop anytime soon. So I know, there’s a lot of people that are going to need our help. And for the people out there, the money that’s donated is going right to somebody [LEO] that needs it.”,

Go to your police union meetings and request a donation for The Pipe Hitter Foundation. Explain to the union leadership that someone in that very room could be next to have to fight for their livelihoods, their family and everything they’ve worked so hard to build.

Just remember, we are all just one call away.

You can read about his incredible story and even purchase a signed copy of his best-selling book, Man in the Arena by going to www.EddieGallagherbook.com For more information on the Pipe Hitter Foundation, visit www.pipehitterfoundation.org