NEW ORLEANS — A Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s lieutenant who lost his leg more than three years ago after being struck by a fleeing ATV driver has reached a major recovery milestone: walking without a cane.
Lt. Edmund Fisher, an 18-year veteran of the department, was critically injured in May 2022 while deploying spike strips during a pursuit in Belle Chasse, FOX 8 reported. One of the fleeing drivers hit Fisher at high speed, causing life-threatening injuries.
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“While I was trying to get the spike strips out of the back of my car you know he was coming at me so fast I turned around and looked and he was already on me,” Fisher said. “So my natural reaction was just kind of throw up my hands in the air and yell at him and that’s when he kind of swerved and hit me.”
Fisher’s pelvis was shattered, and he suffered massive internal bleeding. He underwent multiple surgeries and received continuous blood transfusions for weeks at University Medical Center before doctors ultimately amputated his right leg.
“You know, it was either take the leg or die, basically. And death wasn’t an option,” Fisher told FOX 8.
The suspect, 18 at the time, pleaded guilty to aggravated second-degree battery as part of a plea deal, after originally facing an attempted murder charge. Fisher supported the reduction, citing the emotional toll on his family.
Now serving as a field training officer, Fisher helps manage the department’s drone program and holds an FAA license, according to the report. He continues physical therapy twice a week and has gone through three prosthetic legs during his recovery.
Fisher credited his wife, medical staff, and the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which paid off his mortgage, for supporting his recovery.
