Remembering A Hero

Until the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, you could look South along any of the Avenues of my neighborhood and see the Twin Towers. When the first plane hit we all could see it clearly, including 2 officers from the 6^th Precinct riding in their patrol car. One of them was Police Officer Jim Leahy. According to the story his patrol partner later told, even though the site was out of the Precinct, they immediately took off downtown. They went so fast and hit so many potholes and curbs that by the time they got there, all 4 tires had blown out.

When they arrived in the midst of that horror, Jim saw a firefighter struggling with a load of air tanks. He jumped out of the car, grabbed some of the load and the two of them took off into the building. That was the last his partner saw of him.

As many of you know, I have been an Auxiliary Police Officer of the NYPD for many years. My precinct, the 6^th, is located in Greenwich Village. I knew PO Leahy as a street cop. It is almost a cliché to describe a fallen hero cop as being 'well liked', but in Jim's case it was true. Folks in the neighborhood knew and liked him. He was a good guy.

In the year that followed, Jim's family printed memorial buttons with his photo. I am honored that they gave me one.

Every year, we hold a brief memorial service in front of the Precinct house. We assemble in dress uniforms, mourning bands around our sheilds and read off the names of the 23 NYC Police Officers who died that day. At the time the first plane hit, there is a moment silence. I have been proud to be there each year and to wear Jim's photo on my uniform on that day.