Officer Gallagher Continues Recovery from Stab Wound, Chief Reflects on His Actions

Keith Heffintrayer•

Lansdale Borough Police Officer Dan Gallagher is continuing his recovery from a stab wound, suffered during an incident while off-duty in Richland Township over the Fourth of July weekend.

"It was a serious incident, and he’s working through it,” said Lansdale Borough Police Chief Michael Trail. "We hope that his quick release from the hospital isn’t misconstrued as if the injury was minor. He’s got some time ahead of him, and he’s not going to be back right away.”

Trail said Gallagher—a nine-year veteran of the department—has received an overwhelming outpouring of support from the community, which he both values and appreciates. As the physical injury heals, Trail said they want to continue to be supportive as Gallagher works his way through the emotional aspects of the injury.

"As you can understand, there’s the physical trauma, but there’s also the emotional trauma, which is a lot,” Trail said. "He is a law enforcement officer who, in the line of duty, was feloniously assaulted and stabbed. It’s one of our biggest fears. We’re being as supportive as possible, and we just want to see him come back healthy.”

Once he’s ready to return, Gallagher will resume his duties with the Lansdale Borough Police Department’s Community Service Unit, which was created in August 2018. That could possibly change, however, as Trail said Gallagher is on the promotion list for sergeant, and if promoted, he would be reassigned to a different unit.

An Opportunity to Act

Gallagher’s injury was sustained during an incident that occurred on the morning of July 5.

According to a release from the Richland Township Police Department, police responded to a report of an erratic person walking along Route 309. Police located the male—identified as 45-year-old Stephen Deatelhauser, of Souderton—who then allegedly ran into a CVS, pulled the fire alarm and then fled on foot toward Route 309, the report states.

While fleeing, Deatelhauser allegedly displayed a knife and a kubaton, the report states. As members of the Richland Township Police Department held Deatelhauser at gunpoint and attempted to get him to drop the weapons, Gallagher interceded and took Deatelhauser to the ground, suffering a stab would to the left shoulder in the process, according to police.

"My heart sank that Friday morning,” said Trail. "As Chief of Police, you never want to see that happen.”

Trail said that he’s proud of Gallagher’s actions, and that they reflect both upon his training and his ability to recognize and engage an opportunity to act—even while off-duty.

"Sadly, in this day and age, we’ve seen situations where officers have an opportunity to act—most notably in Florida—and they didn’t,” said Trail. "Yet, here’s Officer Gallagher, he’s off-duty with no requirement to act, he made his assessment and felt that for the safety of everyone involved, he had an obligation to intercede. I commend him for it.”

"I’m proud of him, and I really believe that his actions prevented what would otherwise be an officer involved shooting,” Trail continued. "What I know of the situation and my training and experience, that could have easily become an officer involved shooting, which no one wants. As unfortunate as the resolution was for Dan, it was a positive resolution because no one lost their life.”

Trail offered his gratitude to Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub for his support through the incident, and also offered praise for the responding officers from the Richland Township Police Department, stating that they should be commended for their restraint.

"I commend the Richland Township officers that were involved,” Trail said. "They showed a lot of restraint. It instantly could have turned into a force-on-force situation, but it didn’t. They contained it, they attempted to use de-escalation, and it ended well for the individual.”

As a result of the incident, Deatelhauser was charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault, one felony count of flight to avoid apprehension, and misdemeanor counts of simple assault, terroristic threats and false alarm to an agency of public safety.

His preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 18 in front of Magisterial District Judge Lisa Gaier.