Joseph A. Stassi oral history interview conducted by Julie Broihier, November 12, 2010

About

Joseph is currently Executive Director for the Institute for Rational Counseling and served as an early intervention unit specialist for the NYPD after 9/11. On 9/11, Joseph was sitting in a living room with a patient during a home visit and saw the planes strike the Twin Towers on TV. Two of Joseph's sons worked as police officers in the city and his third son was an ironworker. After the incident, he closed his office and contacted his sons, finding out that both of his sons had not gone to work that day. Then, he got a call from the early intervention program to come to work. He recalls that it was "surreal," as there were no cars on the expressway. He says, "I remember ash in the air, I remember it bothering my eyes." He walked to the site and said, "I've never been exposed to anything like that before." He worked with police officers at the NYC morgue and property bureau, and the Staten Island landfill with police officers who sifted through debris to recover body parts. He worked as part of the early intervention unit through December 2001 and also facilitated debriefing sessions for police officers who worked at the WTC site. Joseph believes the police response should be lauded as they responded to a "war scene." He also worked with the property bureau, cataloging bone fragments, and worked with police officers who experienced trauma. He worked at the site because two of his sons worked for the NYPD and he was, "happy to be there for them."

Archive

Library of Congress, in Library of Congress

Licence or status

Rights statement at the Library of Congress, as the Library of Congress states it.

Credit

Library of Congress

Language

English

Country

United States

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