Sandy MaloneBaton Rouge, LA – East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Corporal Nick Tullier died on Thursday morning, almost six years after he was shot three times in an ambush that left three other law enforcement officers dead.
Cpl. Tullier was drinking coffee with East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Sergeant Bruce Simmons on July 17, 2016 when they heard a radio call for shots fired and an officer down, The Advocate reported.
Cpl. Tullier and Sgt. Simmons raced to the scene at the B-Quik convenience store on Airline Highway.
The deputies had just arrived when 29-year-old black nationalist Gavin Eugene Long opened fire on them with a semiautomatic rifle, The Advocate reported.
Cpl. Tullier was first shot in the stomach.
Then second bullet struck his head, shattered his skull, and damaged his brain, according to The Advocate.
The corporal was also shot in the shoulder.
East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Deputy Brad Garafola and Baton Rouge Policemen Montrell Jackson and Matthew Gerald were killed in the ambush.
Sgt. Simmons was also shot but survived after multiple surgeries.
Long was fatally shot at the scene by a SWAT officer, WDSU reported.
Investigators found Long had emailed a three-page manifesto to a man in Ohio just hours before he ambushed the law enforcement officers.
The premeditated attack occurred 10 days after five police officers were murdered in Dallas during a Black Lives Matter rally.
Three weeks after Cpl. Tullier was shot, a historic flood swept through Louisiana, destroying 49,000, or 86.6 percent, of the homes in Livingston Parish, where he and his family lived, according to statistics posted by WAFB.
“We were oblivious,” his father, James Tullier, told The Police Tribune in a 2017 interview.
James Tullier said the wounded corporal’s family were in their own world, keeping vigil at his bedside in the intensive care unit, and when they finally came up for air, their world had collapsed yet again.
The father created the “Nick Tullier Strong” page on Facebook and posted frequent updates on his son’s condition over the ensuing almost six years.
Cpl. Tullier’s rehabilitation treatment was conducted in specialty hospitals in Texas and his parents lived in an RV near whatever hospital or treatment facility their son was in for several years.
The family was able to move Cpl. Tullier back to Baton Rouge in 2020, The Advocate reported.
In the town where Cpl. Tullier grew up and played high school football, the Denham Springs Kiwanis Club created the “Nick Tullier Service Above Self” award.
The club bestows the award on a department, unit, or individual in Livingston Parish law enforcement who has put the needs of others before themselves “without desiring praise, thought, or reward for their actions,” according to The Advocate.
Cpl. Tullier’s father shared on social media in early May that his son had become septic and was in critical condition.
The hero died on May 5, 2022, almost six years after he was shot in the ambush by Long, WDSU reported.
“Our precious son died,” James Tullier wrote on Facebook Thursday morning.
The mayor of East Baton Rouge ordered flags to half-staff at city-parish officers in honor of Cpl. Tullier, WBRZ reported.
RIP to Nick Tullier a former kicker and tight end on the Denham Springs High football team; graduated in 1994.
Fighter till the end; a true Yellow Jacket.
Our prayers are with his loved ones. #W1NasONE #NickTullierStrong pic.twitter.com/S93bMniMYy
— Denham Springs FB (@denhamspringsFB) May 5, 2022
God has gained his best angel this morning. R.I.P. Deputy Nick Nick Tullier, Prayers! pic.twitter.com/D8ZPR2nWPF
— Timmy Gibbs (@Timmy_Gibbs73) May 5, 2022
RIP. Louisiana Deputy Sheriff Nick Tullier passed away from his critical injuries sustained in 2016 when responding to a call for a gunman targeting police. #rip #hero #murdered #DeputySheriffNickTullier #EastBatonRougeSheriffsOffice #endofwatch #thinblueline #protectingtheblue pic.twitter.com/4lMfQGtCTl
— Protecting the Blue (@protectingblue) May 5, 2022
USA Gathe: My condolences go out to the Tullier Family. He will always be remembered as a true hero to the citizens of EBR. This is just a reminder that the job of law enforcement officers is not easy and requires bravery. Nick exhibited this bravery in every aspect of his life.
— US Attorney MDLA (@MDLAnews) May 5, 2022
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Corporal Nick Tullier, both blood and blue. Thank you for your service.
Corporal Nick Tullier, your life mattered.
Holly Matkin
