Thomas K. Delahanty (born c. 1935) is an American retired policeman who served in the

Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPDC), more commonly known as the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), the DC Police, and, colloquially, the DCPD, is the primary law enforcement agency for the District of Columbi ...

. He was one of the people who were wounded during the assassination attempt on U.S. President Ronald Reagan on Monday, March 30, 1981, in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Early life

From

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

, Thomas Delahanty joined the

in September 1963 after working for

Jones and Laughlin Steel The Jones and Laughlin Steel Corporation began as the American Iron Company, founded in 1852 by Bernard Lauth and Benjamin Franklin Jones, a few miles (c 4 km) south of Pittsburgh along the Monongahela River. Lauth's interest was bought in ...

(1959–1963) and serving in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

(1955–1959). When the

attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan On March 30, 1981, President of the United States Ronald Reagan was shot and wounded by John Hinckley Jr. in Washington, D.C. as he was returning to his limousine after a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton. Hinckley believed the att ...

occurred in March 1981, he was 45 years old and had been a police officer for 17 years. Part of what his nephew described as "a long line of Irish cops", Delahanty was the fourth generation in his family to join the police.

Reagan assassination attempt

Delahanty was normally a police dog officer; after his dog became ill, he volunteered to help guard President Reagan instead of taking the day off. Reagan, White House Press Secretary James Brady, and

United States Secret Service The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and ...

agent Timothy McCarthy were also wounded in the crossfire. When

John Hinckley Jr. John Warnock Hinckley Jr. (born May 29, 1955) is an American man who attempted to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan in Washington, D.C. on March 30, 1981, two months after Reagan's first inauguration. Using a .22 caliber revolver, Hinck ...

fired the first of six bullets, striking Brady in the head and seriously wounding him, Delahanty recognized the sound as a gunshot and turned his head sharply to the left to locate Reagan. As he did so, he was struck in the back of his neck by the second shot, the bullet ricocheting off his spine. Delahanty fell on top of Brady, screaming "I am hit!". Delahanty was taken to Washington Hospital Center. Hinckley's gun had been loaded with six "Devastator" brand cartridges, which contained small aluminum and

lead azide Lead(II) azide is an inorganic compound. More so than other azides, is explosive. It is used in detonators to initiate secondary explosives. In a commercially usable form, it is a white to buff powder. Preparation and handling Lead(II) azid ...

explosive charges designed to explode on contact; the bullet that hit Brady was the only one that exploded. On April 2, after learning that the others could explode at any time, volunteer doctors wearing bulletproof vests removed the bullet from Delahanty's neck. He was sent home eleven days later on Friday, April 10, 1981, and was quoted as saying, "I feel good ... I'm ready to go." After the assassination attempt, Delahanty was hailed as a hero, though he felt a great deal of regret for not having been able to have done more. Delahanty later sued Hinckley, Hinckley's psychiatrist, and the gun manufacturer, Röhm Gesellschaft. His argument against the manufacturer—that small, cheap guns have no purpose except for crime, and thus the company should be held responsible—was rejected by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

Personal life

Delahanty lives in

Whitehall Borough, Pennsylvania Whitehall Borough is a defunct borough that was located in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. The borough ceased to exist when it was incorporated into the City of Philadelphia on the passage of the Act of Consolidation, 1854. History The area ta ...

(a suburb of Pittsburgh) after having moved from suburban Washington, D.C. after the death of his wife, Jean Marcey (1926–1997). Delahanty was interviewed in 2016 about the release of John Hinckley Jr., and responded: "That's their decision, I guess. I'm probably not too enthused with it, but what can you do?"Ben Nuckols and Joe Mandak (August 1, 2016)
John Hinckley story

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delahanty, Thomas 1930s births Living people People from Pittsburgh Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia officers American shooting survivors Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan Date of birth missing (living people)