HOUSTON — The community support for critically injured Baton Rouge deputy Nick Tullier continues, more than a year and eight months after he and five other officers were shot in an ambush.
Tullier’s father, James, announced on the Nick Tullier Strong Facebook page that the Gary Sinise Foundation and Team BlueLine Racing out of Atlanta bought Nick Tullier a brand new Toyota Sienna handicapped van that will allow Nick’s powerchair to sit in the front passenger area.
Tullier was shot three times – in the stomach, head and upper arm – when Gavin Long of Kansas City traveled to Baton Rouge on July 17, 2016, and went on a shooting rampage after luring law enforcement officers to the area. Baton Rouge Police officer Montrell Jackson, BRPD officer Matthew Gerald and East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Brad Garafola were killed in the attack.
Doctors didn’t expect Tullier to live, but he has continued to surpass doctor’s expectations. He was transferred in 2016 from a Baton Rouge hospital to TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston, then later moved to a rehab center in Galveston, Texas. He has since moved back to an apartment in Houston.
“How do we express our gratefulness to these two Foundations? We’re very humbled to say the least,” James Tullier siad. “They didn’t have to. All we can say to them is Thank You.”