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CHUCK MERCIER REMEMBERS September |1, 2001 started as a regular working day for me as Durham. Region’s Deputy Chief of Police. After our morning meeting, a director entered my office to report an aircraft had just flown into the World Trade Center. | joined him a few minutes later. As the wall screen displayed the newscast of the crash event, it was becoming clear this crash was not accidental then the second plane struck the twin tower. Reports indicated other aircraft were also off course and assumed to be under terrorist control. The morn- ing filled with emergency responders. attending to the buildings while Police Intelligence Units were activated to liaise and coordinate the investigative arm of these attacks. The North American skies were closed for business and potential Durham targets were notified and monitored for suspicious activities. As the buildings collapsed we knew the victim count would be extensive. The day was filled with shock, disbelief, anger and sorrow as the reported body count of office work- ers and emergency responders grew in numbers. Staff and citizens were overwhelmed by the viciousness of the attack. The years that have followed has changed the face of policing as it addresses the growing fear and likeli- hood of terrorist attacks on our con- tinent and around the world. It’s a day that | will never forget. 36 FOCUS - SEPTEMBER 2011 Continued from page 5 Perry. But it wouldn’t be long before she would set her sights on her next grand adventure. It was 1994, a few months shy of her 21st birthday, when Heather decided to move to New York. With a single bag of clothes and a pair of rollerblades, she hopped on the bus and headed to the Big Apple, trading in the sprawling greenery and the small-town life of Port Perry for the glitz and glamour of New York City. She knew of only one other person living there —a brief acquaintance — but it was all she needed. The moment she stepped off the bus in New York, she sought out his place of business and asked if he could spare his couch for a few nights until she found another place to stay. Funny enough, the faithful couch became her staple residence for the next few months. “I lived on friends’ couches,” Heather says, “I just started networking and everyone was willing to help out,” she says, adding that it was ‘the New York way’ — everyone is trying to make it and everyone does what they can to help out. And Heather did everything she could to make it by - waitressing, managing a restaurant — all while still pursuing her modelling career and enjoying the new place she now called home. After a few years in the modelling world, Heather decided it was time to step out of the spotlight and get behind the scenes. In 1999, she got her first real New York City ‘high-power’ job at Me & Ro, a small jewellery company (at the time), handling the company’s public relations and marketing. The company grew fast and was soon catering to a heavy celebrity clientele. Heather would spend the next 4 % years there, gaining first-hand experi- ence in the world of business, marketing and PR. However, no high-power job could have prepared her for the day in which, “everything changed.” We all remember September 11th was a beautiful, sunny morning. It was nothing but clear, blue skies in New York. Heather was living in Brooklyn at the time, about 6 km from the World Trade Center (her job at Me & Ro was only 10 blocks away from the site) and it was just another day of getting ready for work. She and one of her roommates were about to leave their apartment for the day when they saw on the news that a plane had crashed into one of the WTC towers. Because Manhattan sits on a hill, they could see the towers and the smoke from their apartment window. Not sure what to do or how serious the situation was, they headed into work. “Planes fly close to the towers all the time,” she says. “We thought it was probably a little passenger plane.” Leaving their apartment, they were immediately struck by paper falling from the sky. They headed for the subway, and after only a short ride the train came to a sudden stop, resulting in many people falling. She learned later, that as the driver approached the end of the tunnel, he had witnessed the second plane crashing into the tower, which instinctually forced him to slam on the brakes. Once the train started moving again, Heather noticed the panic in everyone's eyes. At this point, she was trying to remain calm and collected for those around her. When she and her roommate got to work they were terrified and not sure if they should head back home. She could see people running on the streets below and the sky was covered in a thick black smoke. She tried calling her mother, but a cable had been hit, which left no radio, television or phones working in her building. She managed to get a few emails out to her mom, but conversations were cut short. “Planes fly close to the towers all the time — we thought it was probably a little passenger plane.” ... Heather Knopp