It's Not Always Fun and Games
/It's Not Always Fun and Games
By: Dale Gabriel
September 2004. Bell Township, Westmoreland County
Let me start by saying that one thing most people don't realize about being a police officer is the toll it takes on a family. It is one of the reasons that the divorce rate is so high in law enforcement. Being very visible in the community, there were many times I was forced to come into contact with "disgruntled customers."
Today's memory takes me back to 20 years ago this week....and the days just prior and just after it. It was one of the worst days of my career as far as personal consequence.
Weird stuff has been happening lately. One day recently, I had been driving my personal car, and it felt strange. I pulled over to check it and discovered that my wheel nuts were loose. All 4 wheels. Did not give it much thought.
Then, someone calls PSP and tells them that they were in a bar recently and overheard someone talking. Had no idea who they were, but they talked about "blowing up Tpr Gabriel's house." My bosses call me in and informed me of this. They ask me if I have any idea who it may be and warn me to be careful. This was a bar sits right on the main thoroughfare of our county, Rt 22. Tons of my DUIs came out of there. I found out many years later that they had a party when they heard I retired, but that is a story for a different day!
My boss advises me that they have been running surveillance on my house and initiated an investigation. I tell my wife and kids to keep their eyes open, to be aware of anything out of the ordinary. My wife stresses, telling me that she keeps envisioning putting the key into the front door and seeing the house explode. I tell her that she watches too much tv, but we do discuss staying somewhere else for a while. I am beginning to think I am Buford Pusser.
September 9th, 2004. Heading to work. Got a mile or so from my home, travelling north on State Route 819. BAM!! Something happens. Not sure what. Something hit my truck. Hit me. I am dazed and confused. I quickly pull off the road. What the hell was that, an animal? I cannot see. My windshield is shattered. Glass everywhere. There is a fog. I look up and blood is squirting against my windshield. I have no idea where it is coming from. I look in my rear-view mirror. It's coming from my face. Not sure where. I am covered in blood. Suddenly it hits me. I have been shot.
I call 9-1-1 and tell them I have been shot. I told them to send PSP and an ambulance. The Bell Township police were on duty. I told them I am a trooper and wanted PSP. They dispatcher argued with me, that they HAD to send Bell Township PD. Finally, I told them I just realized that I was just inside the Salem Township line, even though I wasn't. But PSP covered Salem.
I found an old t-shirt in the truck and cleaned my face. Found a huge gash just above my left eye. Enormous! A large flap of skin is hanging down over my eye. My hand was cut and swelled up immediately. I kept the shirt on my face. The dash and inside of the windshield were covered in blood. It looked like someone had slaughtered an animal. I am standing on the side of the road. Tried to flag down a couple of cars that just passed me by. I considered walking to a nearby house, people I knew. It seemed like forever as I waited for help to arrive.
I called my wife who was only about a mile away. I told her I needed her to come out here. She asked why, and I told her to just come. She said the kids were in bed, but I told her just to leave them there for a minute and come out. She told me later that I was calm. She thought I got a flat tire or something, and that she could not believe what she saw when she got there. I guess I should have prepared her, but I did not want her to drive there all upset and hysterical.
As PSP arrived and I got my bearings back a bit, I started looking around. Inside my truck was a tractor hitch, that connects a tractor to a piece of machinery behind it. Big and heavy piece of iron. It was inside my truck. I realize at this point that is what came through my windshield and hit me. At least I was not shot. You could see where it came through the bottom of my windshield, must have struck my hand, before hitting my face.
Now I began to wonder where it came from. Did I hit it on the road and kick it up? Did it fall out of a tree? Did someone throw it from a vehicle? Was it random? This was a very desolate area, late at night.
Was I a target? I thought of the prior incidents with my car. The threats.
I am rushed to the ER. I have to admit, despite staying calm, I was scared shitless. Would I be blind? Would I be disfigured? Ultimately, I had a fractured skull, broken eye socket, broken finger, severe concussion, and damage to my eye. I had a black eye for about four months. I missed seven months of work. Glass was embedded into my bone on my eyebrow. They called out a plastic surgeon to perform emergency surgery immediately. Ended up with 85 stitches on my face and needed a couple of follow-up plastic surgeries. For years, my eyebrow would begin to get red and swell, and pieces of glass would work their way out to the surface. To this day, I still have issues with droopiness in the eyelid.
It took me months to recover. My youngest daughter was just 10, and she was terrified of me. After this, my wife and I were worried about some idiot out there threatening my three daughters. They were involved in competitive gymnastics, middle school basketball, and high school cheering. It was horrible attending their games looking like a freak.
There were a few more incidents over the next few months. One day, the wheel came off my truck while I was driving. The investigation never revealed exactly what happened or who was responsible. I kept my head on a swivel for a while both ON and OFF duty. This was one of the downfalls of being an aggressive trooper.
Stay safe everyone.
Dale Gabriel is a retired patrol and community services officer with the Pennsylvania State Police. After 25+ years of service, in retirement, he has been working on a book of his many PSP memories. He also coaches a baseball team in a Miracle League for those with special needs. He holds a communication degree with English minor from Saint Vincent College in Western Pennsylvania.
