On his way to Ground Zero, President Barack Obama visited the First Police Precinct station in Lower Manhattan on Thursday afternoon, where he met with emergency workers, many of whom were among the first responders on September 11, 2001.
"I hope that you know that the country will continue to stand behind you going forward," Obama told those inside the station house, "because there are still going to be threats out there, and you're still going to be called on to take courageous actions and to remain vigilant, and you're going to have an entire country behind you when you do it."
Four days after Osama bin Laden was captured and killed in Pakistan, the president spent about a half hour in the First Precinct, shaking each officer's hand and thanking them for their service, they said. The president spoke of honoring the memory of officers who lost their lives on September 11 and invoked the sentiment of unity.
"It was an honor to have the president come visit us here at the First Precinct," said commanding officer Edward Winski. "There was a lot of sentiment thanking him, appreciation for his leadership in light of recent events."
First Precinct officers were not killed on September 11, but the Emergency Service Unit lost 14 members.
"We will never forget them, and that's what something that the president said," Lieutenant Franco Barberio from the Emergency Service Unit said. "That Sunday is just a day that marks that we will never forget the officers that we lost on September 11, their families that we try to take care of every single day since then."
Detective David Lasala, another first responder from the Emergency Service Unit, described feeling "elated" about getting a chance to talk to the president only a few days after the announcement that bin Laden had been killed.
"I was very, very happy that they took the time and effort to be persistent in fight to capture and kill bin Laden out of respect for all those who lost someone in 9/11," he said.
Although Barberio said last Sunday was a "great day for America," he echoed sentiments expressed this week by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, who also attended the meeting with the President at the precinct: New York City remains a prime target for terrorists.
"It's another chapter (bin Laden’s death) that's behind us,” Barberio said. "We still have to look forward and be diligent every day. We can't let our guards down at all in regards to keeping the city safe."
