A NYPD Cop’s Perspective: Everything Changed Sept. 11

By Steve Bigham

Dave Samoskevich stopped by The Bee this week on his day off from his work as a patrol officer for the NYPD. The longtime Newtown resident has been working extra long hours since the tragedy of September 11 and he seemed to enjoy his few moments of peace and quiet.

Eight weeks since the attacks, Dave, a 1987 NHS graduate, said he still has trouble believing it actually happened. Life in New York City has changed immensely since that fateful day. Dave, a rookie cop, was on duty in the 45th Precinct of the Bronx when the first plane hit.

 “When the first plane hit, I heard it over the radio. Everybody was yelling and screaming, but I thought it was just an accident, one of those smaller planes that fly around the area,” Dave recalled. “Ten minutes later, the second plane hit and we were put into a Level 4 mobilization. Everybody got called in. That’s when we knew something was wrong.”

Dave’s precinct is located on the north side of the Whitestone Bridge about 10 miles from the disaster scene. He watched in horror from the roof of his precinct as the towers crumbled to the ground. It was a scene he will never forget.

“I worked 19 hours that day. Then I got home and I couldn’t sleep that first night because I couldn’t believe what happened,” Dave said. “I worked two weeks straight with no days off. That was citywide.”

On September 13, Dave reported to Ground Zero where he joined hundreds of other fire and policemen in a bucket brigade. Meanwhile, F-16 fighter jets circled the city over head.

“When I was there they found half the bathroom door to one of the planes. Everything was covered in dust and ash. Shoes, purses, cell phones littered the streets because people just ran,” Dave said.

On three occasions, Dave and the others were ordered off “the pile” over fears that nearby buildings might collapse. At the end of the day, Dave walked away, exhausted, covered in soot and somewhat dazed. Several people holding pictures of their loved ones stopped Dave as he walked from the scene.

“People were asking me if I’d seen this person or that person. I felt bad for these people. There was nothing I could do. I felt helpless,” he said.

Through all the tragedy, Dave was struck by the kind words and gestures made by New Yorkers who cheered on he and his fellow workers.

“Everything has changed,” he said. “People seem to appreciate police and firemen more. Crime is way down. People seem to have a better understanding of the police and firemen.”

But Dave’s job didn’t end at Ground Zero. Since then, he has responded to several anthrax scares, all of which have turned out to be false alarms.

Dave, 32, was sworn in along with 1,326 other new officers at Madison Square Garden back on October 24, 2000. He became one of 55,000 members of the NYPD, considered to be the eighth largest standing army in the world. He joined former Newtown residents, brothers Chris and Paul Daly, who also patrol the streets of New York.

The 45th Precinct is located at 2877 Barkley Avenue in the Northeast Bronx, covering 8.12 square miles. The predominately residential area contains six miles of park area, 127.3 miles of streets, and 10.6 miles of waterfront. There are 100,000 residents living within the Precinct. It also contains two unique areas, Coop City and City Island, which are both self-contained communities with their own shopping centers. Coop City, with its dozens of massive skyscraper apartments, is the largest residential development of its kind in the United States, with a population of 33,000. City Island, located on Long Island Sound, has a rich seafaring history and is known for having some of New York’s finest seafood restaurants.