Oakland Police Officer Shares Recollections of Sept. 11, 2001
When Officer Ed McDermott was a little boy, he would often accompany his grandfather around North Bergen and listen with intrigue as he and his friends reflected on historic events such as the Dec. 7, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
“They’d tell stories about where they were, what they were doing that day, what they thought when they heard about it, and what they did afterward,” Officer McDermott recalled. “Afterward, some people enlisted in the military, some people became doctors, or nurses.”
With the approaching 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Officer McDermott thought about how—similar to him with regard to Pearl Harbor--many Oakland residents, including his own two teenage children and even many of his colleagues on the borough police force, were either not born or were too young to have recollections about that fateful day.
So he decided to share his reflections of Sept. 11, much the way his grandfather and his grandfather’s buddies did. It's a way both to mark the anniversary of that tragic day, and to give a first-hand account of that time in U.S. history to those who have no recollection of it.
“I heard the stories about Pearl Harbor, I read about it, and I talked to people who remembered that day,” he said, “so I made the connection and I thought ‘This is our time to do that for the new generation.'”
So Officer McDermott wrote down what he was doing on Sept. 11, 2001, and what he thought and did when he—along with essentially the entire world—realized what was unfolding just across the Hudson River, as well in Shanksville, Pa. and at the Pentagon.
“We have a bunch of officers here who were young then, who have no direct knowledge of what happened that day,” he said. “I thought it was a good idea for people to think back to what they felt, how it changed them.”
Officer McDermott said for the entire month of September, members of the Oakland Police Department will wear a Sept. 11 memorial citation bar above their badge.
“So as we’re out in the community, someone might see something different on our uniform and ask what it is, and it will start a dialogue about 9-11,” he said.
Q. Where were you/what were you doing when you learned of the attack on 9-11?
A. I was working as a patrol officer in the Borough of Oakland.
Q. What were your initial thoughts that day?
A. I first heard of a plane crashing into the (World Trade Center) tower on the car’s radio and assumed it was an accident. I felt that the emergency services of the city of New York would be able to handle it due to their experience. I listened to a number of police radio transmissions that made me concerned that this was not an accident. I stopped into the station, the administrative staff was watching the news on the one television in headquarters. I stepped into the room just as we all saw the second plane hit.
Q. In the weeks that followed the attack, what do you remember most?
A. I placed my American flag up on my home that day, and it has flown every day since. Within days more and more American flags went up. People began to show a sense of pride in being American, thanking soldiers and emergency responders. The sense of community felt so strong.
Q. How has this event changed your outlook on life, our nation, etc.?
A. I have gained a greater appreciation for our freedom, our nation, and my opportunities as a police officer.
Q. Did the attack spur any changes in your life?
A. I joined the Bergen County Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) so that I would be trained for any future incidents. I have made a priority out of showing those that I care about how much they matter to me.
(Officer McDermott explained that on Sept. 11, 2001, two members of the Oakland Police Department who were members of the RDF went to the George Washington Bridge—which also was considered a potential terrorist target--to secure it and help with control of people trying to leave or enter New York City. The RDF, which Officer McDermott explained has existed since 1984, trains those meet strict criteria to assist in major events—from disasters to planned activities.)
Q. What do you do in remembrance of those lost?
A. Every year on 9-11 I visit a memorial site or attend a memorial. I have cycled in the Police Unity Tour, run the Tunnel to Towers 5K, visited the 9-11 Memorial in New York City, visited the National Police Memorial in Washington D.C. and attended the candlelight vigil.
The weather that morning was nearly perfect, the sky was a clear blue, Officer McDermott recalled.
“It was absolutely beautiful, a picturesque day,” he said.
Officer McDermott also recalled how, as word spread of the tragedy befalling the country, parents rushed to the schools in and around Oakland to get their children and bring them home, and how police had to restrict access to Skyline Drive.
“There were people congregating on Skyline Drive because they could see the towers. We wound up shutting it down the lot because of the traffic problem,” he said.
Later, driving around Oakland, he was taken aback by the eerie quiet.
“There was no air traffic, I remember driving on the highway and there were hardly any cars, and this was in the middle of the day. The businesses were shut down, no one was in the street.”
One of the most haunting parts of that day was listening to a state police radio through which he could hear officers calling for help for their colleagues who were stuck in the towers.
“I remember the fear, they said ‘There are officers trapped in the towers.’ I was able to hear that clearly, the calls for service, and people responding to the calls. I’m sure that some of them did not survive. That was very rough.”
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