PINELLAS PARK, Fla. — A Pinellas Park High School resource officer who served as a New York City police officer during the Sept. 11 attacks is sharing his firsthand account.
Harold Behar keeps a collection of newspapers, books and mementos from 9/11, including glass from the World Trade Center. He uses those items as part of his annual talks with students at Pinellas Park High School.
“As I look at this, it just reflects back to my time as a police officer,” Behar said.
Behar was 29 years old and had been an NYPD officer for about a year when the attacks happened. Before joining the police department, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps.
On Sept. 11, Behar said he was on his way to his parents’ house when he heard on the radio that a plane had struck one of the twin towers. He later tried to get back to his precinct to help, but the trip took far longer than usual.
“A typical ride that would take the NYPD to my precinct in Brooklyn was 35-40 minutes,” Behar said. “It took me about three and a half hours to get in.”
Behar joined thousands of first responders who responded after the attacks. Now, as a school resource officer, he said firsthand accounts are becoming more important because today’s high school students were not alive when 9/11 happened.
“The students get to see this in my eyes, in my view, what I saw and what I experienced,” Behar said.
Behar said he believes people who lived through that time have a responsibility to educate younger generations.
“This was one of the worst attacks on U.S. soil, and it’s up to us and people who have been there and been around during that time; it’s important for us to educate the younger generation,” Behar said.