NYC officer remembers 9/11

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - A Virginia Beach man was training to become a New York City police officer during 9/11.

Anthony Rivera was just beginning a 7-year career with the New York City Police Department as a recruit in the academy, but in the blink of an eye he was forced into action.

"I was out on the street and they gave all the Police Academy recruits police authority to go out and police," Rivera said. "There was such a large amount of police officers who were sent to to Ground Zero."

Rivera was only a few blocks away from the Twin Towers during the attack. He said he remembers hearing low-flying planes soon followed by smoke and chaos.

"There were huge lines of people," Rivera said. "Thousands of people in suits and ties, some people in shorts and t-shirts, just all kinds of people leaving the scene."

As victims inside the towers walked around confused, rescue crews went in. Rivera still has fellow officer Glen Pettit's face etched in his mind.

"I remember him grabbing all of his equipment and heading to the scene," Rivera said. "He was one of those people that never came back."

The next few days for Rivera were ones filled with little sleep. He and follow officers worked around the clock.

"There are certain things that I keep very close to me that remind me during that time," Rivera said. "I have my police hat. I have my memo book where I wrote down notes during that time."

Rivera also kept is ID card. He says they are all reminders of much pain.

"A lot of families were very sad without knowing what happened to their loved ones," Rivera said. "A lot of people were just never recovered."

Rivera is now out of the police business and living in Virginia Beach, but every 9/11 anniversary puts him right back in New York.

"It's a tragic situation that America had to deal with and it affected everybody," Rivera said.