Local law enforcement agencies treat 9/11 as another day of service

Like most Americans, members of the Bloomington Police Department and the Bloomington Fire Department were clustered around TVs and radios waiting for any new information on Sept. 11, 2001. They saw the smoke billowing from the twin towers and pictures of their comrades running into the buildings to save lives. Like everyone else, they saw the towers collapse.\nBPD Senior Police Officer Lloyd Hawkins was on duty that day, feeling only disbelief as he watched footage from ground zero.\n"I guess you feel helpless," Hawkins said. "It doesn't matter if you're a police officer, firefighter or anything else. You have the same feelings as everyone."\nIn the days after the attacks, feelings of disbelief turned into feelings of vulnerability and anticipation. BPD officers waited and wondered whether or not Bloomington could be a target, with all of its international students and community members, said BPD Capt. Joe Qualters.\nIt's been two years since America experienced the terrorist attacks. But nevertheless, memories of fallen comrades are a part of their daily lives.\nA sense of loss and mourning is felt anytime the firefighting community loses one member, but Sept. 11 left a gaping hole in many of the firefighter's hearts. BFD Sgt. Jimmie Dean Coffey said the men at Station 2 were on the edge of their seats awaiting news of their comrades. \n"We were like the rest of the country," he said. "We were glued to the TV and mourning the loss of brothers. Firefighters are a pretty tight brotherhood."\nThat tight brotherhood led to a department call-out, asking for men to sign up and prepare themselves to help their brethren in New York City.\nThe footage of members from the New York Police Department and Fire Department of New York gave BPD Sgt. Jeff Canada a sense of pride as he watched the heroic acts of his fellow officers.\n"When I watched the news, I saw the people's names and pictures," Canada said. "It's hard because you not only think about them, but what they did. They went into something that none of us had ever done and they tried to save people knowing the towers might collapse on them. These guys went in on a call to save lives and they lost their lives."\nOfficer Hawkins agreed with Canada about the severity of risks officers face everyday.\n"I'm sad like everybody else about those officers, but that's part of the risk you take as a police officer," he said. "You hope you never find yourself in a position like that. But if you do, you hope you do the right thing."\nThe loss of so many lives attached a greater amount of heroism and bravery associated with the police badge for Capt. Qualters.\n"You always take a great sense of pride from those who wear the badge and go to heroic efforts," Qualters said. "The actions fell onto the police officers and firemen who went up the stairwells, eventually to their death. You take great pride in those who did that in order to help others."\n"What is it about police officers that makes them try to get to a call as soon as possible?" Qualters asked. "I think it was the same for the World Trade Center as it is for all officers. You had people coming in from all over trying to get to work because that was what they are paid to do. They were driven to go to the site so they could help and some of them lost their lives trying to."\nToday, the fire department is trying to minimize the possibility of something like the trade center attacks happening in Bloomington.\n"The attacks have brought more training, education and money into the fire service that wasn't here. We're more prepared and a lot more aware of what could be happening in the area then we were before," said BFD Deputy Chief of Operations Roger Kerr. "The main thing is that everyone has, instead of been reactive, become more proactive. We're trying to prevent situations instead of dealing with them."\n-- Contact staff writer Julia Blanford at jblanfor@indiana.edu.