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Episode No. 25 NYPD Emergency
Services Unit Date: June 11, 2008 Notes: interview with Retired NYPD Detective
and former member of the NYPD Emergency Services Unit, Alan Sheppard.
In the late 1960s,
Detective Alan Sheppard, NYPD (ret.), served two years with the United States Army. His service included
deployment with the 101st Airborne Division to the Republic of South Vietnam. In 1969, Alan Sheppard joined
the New York City Police Department. His first assignment was as a patrol officer in the 81st Precinct
which is located in the north central area of the borough of Brooklyn. This neighborhood is known as "Bedford Stuyvesant."
A small section along the southern border is referred to Stuyvesant Heights.
In 1974, Alan
Sheppard was assigned the Emergency Service Unit. The Emergency Services Unit of the NYPD is nation’s
largest permanent emergency response team with over 400 personnel. The “ESU” provides specialized equipment, expertise
and support; “from auto accidents to building collapses to hostage situations, ESU officers are called on when the situation
requires advanced equipment and expertise.” In 1985, Alan Sheppard was assigned to the NYPD Intelligence
Division and given dual status with the United States Marshals. In 1988, he worked an undercover assignment
and in 1989 he was assigned to the Major Case Squad. Detective Alan Sheppard, NYPD (ret.) is the author
of E-Man: Life in the NYPD Emergency Services Unit.
According to Lieutenant
Vernon Gebreth, NYPD (ret.), “Sheppard served in the NYPD during the urban warfare years and received his Baptism of
Fire at the Williamsburg Siege. He was a decorated hero of the NYPD and member of the elite Emergency Services Unit (ESU).
In his book, E-Man Al takes the reader on a non-stop roller coaster ride of emotions as he reveals life on the streets through
the eyes of a combatant during the turbulent times and the work of the Emergency Services Unit—the same unit that the
Police call when they need Help.”
According to one
reader, Alan Sheppard’s book, “is a fast paced account of a true story about a cop who not only carried people
from burning buildings and off of bridges high above the waters of NYC but also saved a fellow cop from sure death by shooting
his killer dead. You will not be able to put this book down! I urge to read how some people don't imagine how to be a hero
but actually become one.”
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