Get Behind The Badge was established in 2001 after the tragic line of duty death of Whitehall Officer Terry McDowell. During the violent attack of Officer McDowell, his partner Eric Brill was also shot and subsequently lost his eye. Officer Brill was unable to return as a law enforcement officer. Several weeks later on 9/11, New York City was attacked and dealt a very tragic loss of many lives including those of the first responders (police and fire personnel). These incidents and the line of duty deaths of Columbus Police LT. Christopher Claypool and several other Central Ohio officers raised the idea that we needed a charity to raise funds for the families of these fallen heroes.

Our Executive Director and Surviving Spouse, Angela McDowell sought to build something so that no other widow and their families had to endure the financial hardships she encountered during Terry’s death. Thus, Get Behind The Badge was born. During the tragic incident of Officer McDowell, the crucial response from Whitehall Fire Department was one of the factors in the survival of Officer Brill. Their heroic efforts to remove Officer Brill from a hostile environment were instrumental in saving his life. With the teamwork of both safety services it was recognized that Get Behind The Badge needed to include Fire personnel within their realm of responsibility. Since 2001, we have held many annual charity fundraisers to assist us with our mission of providing immediate financial assistance to the families of those law enforcement/fire fighter personnel that have been killed and/or critically wounded in the line of duty.

The difference with our organization compared to others is that our Executive and Trustee Boards are not compensated for what we do. We do what we do based upon our hearts and the responsibilities we have to care for our own. Our Executive Board consists of a surviving spouse – Angela McDowell (Executive Director), three active police officers - Whitehall Officer Spencer Salyers (President), Columbus Officer Andrew Ward (Vice President), Franklin County Deputy Brian Toth (Fundraising Chairman), Retired Whitehall Officer Eric Brill (Treasurer) and Tammy Soder (Secretary) whose husband is a Whitehall Medic and was instrumental in the care of Officer Brill. Our Executive Board understands first hand the tragedies of first responders and the results of line of duty incidents.