Senior Lieutenant Phillip Harrover, Jr.
On a sunny afternoon, March 15, 2008, Senior Lieutenant Phillip Harrover, Jr. was off-duty and riding his motorcycle on Nokesville Road in Prince William County when out of nowhere, his life changed forever. A pick-up truck Flip later estimated was driving 40 to 45 miles per hour came at him head-on. He only had a split second to react before the truck plowed in, tossing him into oncoming traffic and down on the pavement. The driver of the truck, later determined to be severely impaired from alcohol, tried to flee the scene but was stopped and arrested immediately. In agony with one arm bone broken in 11 places and at a 90-degree angle, and a compound leg fracture, Flip was airlifted to Inova Fairfax Hospital. Colleagues working the accident investigation later found large pieces of his leg bone on the road. Surgeons put the broken pieces of Flip’s arm and leg together with a series of rods, pins and screws, but because of a deep irreparable tear, they had to cut out about one-third of his right quadriceps muscle.
The seriousness of Flip’s injuries was obvious, and coworkers, including his boss, Major Mike Crosbie, doubted he would be able to come back. “It looked to be career-ending,” said Crosbie. “I don’t know that other people would have come back.”
Transferred to a rehabilitation hospital, Flip lapsed into a deep depression. “I was in so much pain I refused to come out of my room one afternoon. I had been stripped of everything I ever knew. I had defined myself by what I did physically and at that point I couldn’t walk and could barely move my right arm,” he recalled. But Flip thought of the people waiting there to help him, and of his family, friends and colleagues who had rallied around, and he forced himself through many months of excruciating rehabilitation and follow-up surgeries. “I was dealt a bad situation, and I could give up or fight. I chose to fight,” he recalled.
As Flip plotted his return, he kept in touch constantly through email and phone, not only for his official role as Deputy Commander of the Special Operations Bureau, but also as a member of the Special Weapons and Tactics Team. By the time he officially came back full-time --one year and a day after the accident— Flip’s re-entry was seamless. “It’s not like there was a transition period, because he had been keeping up with things all along,” Crosbie recalled.
Flip threw himself back into work, thrilled to be back on the job doing what he loved. “People ask me, why are you doing this? Why not just retire, but why would I?,” he said. Flip continues to set ambitious goals for himself, like attending the FBI National Academy, a 10-week competitive entry course on law enforcement leadership. And he pushes himself every day, despite the lasting effects from the accident. “I believe in leading by example, and leaders should challenge themselves,” he explained.
Flip’s dedication and determination have not escaped his coworkers, said Major Crosbie. “He’s very conscientious and hard-working. The fact that he’ll have life-long repercussions from his injuries, but still is qualified for full-duty and even now is in better shape than much of the department, has motivated a lot of people.”
U.S. Capitol Police Special Agent Noel Gleason had lived relatively well for about 20 years with primary sclerosing cholangitis, a progressive liver disease that can lead to liver failure. But on May 20, 2008 the smooth ride came to a screeching halt. Noel was hospitalized with internal bleeding and learned that he needed a liver transplant to survive. Noel's brother and sister immediately went for testing as living donors, but neither was a match, bad news that arrived at the same time. "I don't even remember driving home that day," Noel recalled. "We had gotten so far ahead in our thinking that my siblings would be a match, we hadn't considered what we'd do if they weren’t."
While Noel and his wife Patti were coming to terms with their circumstances, the phone rang. It was U.S. Capitol Police Special Agent Shannon Croom calling to say he had contacted Georgetown University Medical Center and was going in to be tested as a donor. "Until then I never realized a person could donate their liver," he recalled. "Noel was someone I looked up to, and I knew he would do the same thing for me, so I didn't hesitate." Although a long line of U.S. Capitol Police officers also signed up to donate, it never came to that. On July 9, 2008, Shannon was cleared as a donor. The call to tell Noel, Shannon remembered, "was probably the best one I ever made."
By that time, Noel's condition had deteriorated and he was no longer able to work. Though elated, his feet were firmly on the ground. "There were lots of nights when I couldn't sleep. I'd just sit thinking of what would happen if it didn't work out. It was never a sure thing that I'd survive," he said. Meanwhile, reality set-in for Shannon, too. "It's definitely a tough surgery. You're taking a completely healthy person and making them sick by risk of complications. But the more research I did, the more I felt everything would fall into place."
On July 31, the two men went to surgery. Shannon gave 60 percent of his liver, effectively saving Noel's life. Shannon returned to full duty on September 15, 2008; Noel on May 4, 2009. More than a year after the transplant, the two officers are able to reflect on all that has transpired. "I came back from a real challenge, but Shannon is the one who really stepped up," Noel said. "In law enforcement, we're continually watching out for each other, and have to do so in a split-second. But Shannon had time to think about this, and that means all the world to me." For his part, Shannon observed that "I knew Noel would help anyone he could, but this was a time he had to take a step back and let someone help him. Someone had to do it, and I was happy to."
The determination of one to keep going despite long odds and the complete self-sacrifice of the other reflect the character of both Noel and Shannon, according to Supervisory Special Agent Raymond Stonestreet, who nominated them for the Theodore Roosevelt® Police Award. "They're exceptional individuals in their work ethic, dedication to their jobs, and dedication to each other. It's a sight to see."