Years of Service: 1985-2002

John began his career with NYPD in 1985 on foot patrol in Midtown. When John started working he was told that he would have a grandstand seat to the greatest show on earth which turned out to be true. Every day John interacted with the public and met people from all over the world and all walks of life. John talks about his interaction with David Letterman which is included in the interview.

John discusses working in downtown New York during the 1980s when Times Square was a mess and there was a police officer almost on every block dealing with every imaginable type of crime.

During this interview, John discusses what it was like to grow up in New York and why he became a police officer for NYPD. He discusses his time on patrol and his promotion to detective in the Auto Crime Unit where he dealt with every possible crime including, theft, drugs, and gun trafficking.

John gives a personal and emotional account of what happened to him on 9/11 and the injury that forced him to retire from the job that he loved and as he puts it "I can't believe they paid me to do".