Brave Texas boy, 8, with terminal cancer all smiles during whirlwind NYC trip where he’ll be sworn in as NYPD detective

Little Julian Galloway is fighting cancer — just like his heroes fight crime.

The cop-obsessed terminally-ill 8-year-old boy has been battling the brutal disease for more than half of his life, with a recent scan revealing new tumors, and that the existing ones on his brain were growing.

But Julian, of Texas, was granted brief respite Tuesday — and given rare reasons to smile — as he launched into a whirlwind tour of the Big Apple organized by a non-profit police foundation.

“We’ve been at it [for] four-and-a-half years battling cancer. It’s been absolute hell, up and down, beating it, getting it again, from the highest highs to the lowest lows,” his dad Lee Galloway told The Post.

“These are the days he has the highest highs,” Galloway, a detective with the Corpus Christi Police Department, said.

The brave boy beamed Tuesday as he got to inspect an impressive fleet of police vehicles — his instant favorite being a Port Authority Police Department SWAT truck — and flew drones with the NYPD’s Technical Assistance Response Unit.

On Wednesday, Julian will be sworn in as an honorary NYPD detective by Police Commissioner Edward Caban and meet with other department brass during a tour of One Police Plaza.

“I am a policeman,” the plucky kid told The Post when asked if he’d like to be a “real” cop one day.

Julian was just a toddler when he was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a rare, fast-growing cancer of the central nervous system in 2019.

Before the family got the devastating news, Julian would spend the day at his dad’s office “playing around” — and that’s when his fascination with cops started, Galloway said.

“We didn’t know he had cancer at the time, but … he just had a blast. He loves to come to our office,” the father said

“He said, ‘I want to go to work with you. I want to be a police officer.’ But he said it cute – he said, ‘oppicer.’ He was five,” Galloway recalled.

Asked why he loves police officers, the energetic boy said, “Because they’re cool!”

The then-5-year-old was sworn in as an honorary member of the Corpus Christi force in 2021, standing beside his dad in his very own police uniform as he vowed to uphold the values of the department — and to “beat those cancer bad guys.”

He was invited to the Big Apple when Joseph Imperatrice, co-founder of the organization Blue Lives Matter NYC, saw a viral video Julian’s dad posted online of the youngster wearing a police uniform one day when he wanted to stay home from school.

The trip comes at an especially difficult time for the Galloway family, which also includes mom Monica and Julian’s two siblings. A few days ago, a scan revealed that the tumors on Julian’s brain were growing, in addition to new tumors appearing.

“His father Lee has 18 years on [the force], and we just want to let him know that even though he’s in Texas we want to be able to show him that he has support out here and take away from the crappy news they’re getting and just see his smile,” Imperatrice told The Post.

“He gets to be a normal boy while he’s in New York City,” Imperatrice added. “They pulled out all the stops for this little boy and it reminds you why you became a cop.”

The spirited child was all smiles as he stepped off his early-morning flight from Houston at Newark Airport Tuesday — and was met by about 30 NYPD, PAPD and New York State Police officers.

After that hero’s welcome, Julian and his dad were then treated to a lights-and-sirens procession to Staten Island, where they were dropped off at the NYPD’s 121st Precinct.

Once at the stationhouse, the giddy boy got to run around with a window-dash police light on his head as New York’s Finest showered him in presents – including a basketball, an Avatar toy and an NYPD travel mug.

Later, Julian got to conduct a roll call for the precinct and watched a helicopter flyover in his honor.

In addition to the swearing-in on Wednesday, the boy and his dad will attend a ceremony at St. Patricks’ Cathedral and meet Archbishop of New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, and later go on a ride on the Hudson River and visit One World Trade Center.

Then on Thursday, the two will be driven by PS 26 on Staten Island where students will be standing outside to greet them, before heading back to Newark for their flight home.

“He’s got a front row seat. He’s got a special VIP tour,” Imperatrice said of the boy’s packed itinerary.

Creating lasting memories has been a key focus for Julian’s family ever since his diagnosis.

In September 2022, the boy got to take a break from treatment and surgeries for a helicopter tour of Nueces County alongside the local sheriff.

Last spring, Julian’s mother, Monica, told KRIS 6 News that the boy had about six months to a year to live, depending on the outcome of oral chemo.

“It just boosts his spirits so much, all the attention and the fun he gets to have,” Galloway said of the New York City trip.

“It gives us good days,” the dad added. “We just count the good days and put the blessings of good days in reserve for hard days.”

Additional reporting by Larry Celona