(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) – Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Cody B. Fisher, 29, of Brentwood, pleaded guilty to Assault on a Police Officer, and several other related charges, for driving impaired by the combined influence of alcohol and marijuana, speeding, failing to pull over and then crashing into Suffolk County Police Officer Brendon Gallagher. The crash caused the officer’s vehicle to flip over and crash into a tree, resulting in serious injury to the officer.
“Our community wants to see an end to people treating our shared roadways like personal racetracks,” said District Attorney Tierney. “It’s by the grace of God that Officer Gallagher was not killed. It is because of cases like this that my office holds defendants to the highest levels of accountability for impaired or reckless driving.”
According to court documents and the defendant’s admissions during his guilty plea allocution, on January 5, 2025, just before 6:00 p.m., Police Officer Gallagher was conducting a traffic stop of another motorist on the Long Island Expressway between exit 58 and exit 57. Fisher, driving his 2021 Ford Mustang, sped by Officer Gallagher and revved his engine.
Officer Gallagher left his traffic stop and attempted to pull the defendant over. Fisher fled from the officer, weaving in and out of lanes, reaching speeds up to 100 mph.
As Officer Gallagher pulled alongside the defendant’s car, Fisher hit the police vehicle two times, causing it to lose control, flip on its side, and smash into a tree on the side of the expressway. Officer Gallagher had to be extricated from the vehicle and was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital where he was treated for a torn aorta and abdominal injuries requiring surgery.
Following the crash, Fisher’s severely damaged vehicle traveled hundreds of feet on the side of the expressway before coming to a stop. When Suffolk County Police arrived, they observed that Fisher had glassy, bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and was unsteady on his feet. Officers also observed a strong smell of burnt cannabis emanating from Fisher’s person and his vehicle.
Fisher was placed under arrest and refused to submit to a blood test. A warrant was subsequently issued, and analysis of Fisher’s blood revealed a blood alcohol content of .06 percent as well as the presence of active marijuana.
On September 4, 2025, Fisher pleaded guilty to the following charges before Supreme Court Justice John B. Collins:
- One Count of Assault on a Police Officer, a Class C violent felony;
- One Count of Assault in the Second Degree, a Class D violent felony;
- One Count of Vehicular Assault in the Second Degree, a Class E felony;
- One Count of Unlawful Fleeing a Police Officer in the Second Degree, a Class E felony;
- One Count of Driving While Ability Impaired by the Combined Influence of a Drug or Alcohol and Drugs, an unclassified misdemeanor; and
- One Count of Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle, an unclassified misdemeanor.
Fisher is due back in court on October 21, 2025, and he is expected to be sentenced to 10 years, followed by 5 years of post-release supervision. He is being represented by Eric Besso Esq. and Peter Mayer Jr., Esq.
This case is being prosecuted by Acting Deputy Bureau Chief Laura Newcombe and Assistant District Attorney Annemarie DiBlasio of the Vehicular Crime Bureau, with investigative assistance by Detective Donal Hughes of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Major Case Unit.
