In 2012, Erin Coughlin found the best way she could to honor her late father, New York Police Department (NYPD) Sergeant John Coughlin. After graduating from the Police Academy and becoming an NYPD police officer herself, she put on a badge inscribed with her father’s shield number. Before September 11, 2001, Sergeant Coughlin was taking classes at John Jay College, working in the NYPD Emergency Services Unit, and finding precious time to be with his wife and three daughters. “He was just this big teddy bear of a human being,” says Erin, the oldest of the three girls, about her six-foot-two dad. “He was so much fun and he loved his little girls.” We sat down with Erin to learn more about her courageous father.

“He dreamed of staying at a lakefront resort with a pool. Ironically, on our last trip with him, we were on the lake with a pool. God knows how much overtime he had to do to get us that place, but even in the moment we knew it was exciting and we appreciated it. We just didn’t know how important that trip would be.” —Erin Coughlin

The Family Man
Whenever Sergeant Coughlin had some time off, he made a point of spending it with his family. “He was always just there, always fun, and he loved us to death. He told us every chance he could get that he loved us,” says Erin. For the Coughlin girls, their dad’s precinct was almost an extension of their own home. “We’d go upstairs and eat in the kitchen. We’d go and see his big truck. We’d play in the nearby playgrounds,” she remembers. “And, when it was career day at school, he’d always come in with all this cool NYPD stuff.” It was important to Sergeant Coughlin that his daughters be proud of the work he did—and they always were.   

Erin Coughlin (far right) with her father, NYPD Sergeant John Coughlin, her mother, and sisters

In an effort to cool off in the summertime and spend some outdoor time together, the Coughlin family annually made their way up to Lake George for a week. “We weren’t rich by any means, but my parents made sacrifices to make sure that we had such a good childhood,” says Erin. Normally, the family would stay in a modest cabin, but in the summer of 2001, Sergeant Coughlin got to experience something he always wished for his family. “He dreamed of staying at a lakefront resort with a pool. Ironically, on our last trip with him, we were on the lake with a pool. God knows how much overtime he had to do to get us that place, but even in the moment we knew it was exciting and we appreciated it. We just didn’t know how important that trip would be.”

“When I got to my sixth-period chemistry class, my teacher announced that the buildings had crashed down, and they didn’t know if anyone made it out.” —Erin Coughlin

The News
On September 11, 2001, Erin was only 16 years old, and her sisters were 13 and six. Their father had to head to work extra early that day, so they didn’t get the chance to say goodbye to him that morning. It was Erin’s second week as a junior in high school, and during her third-period math class, an announcement came over the loudspeaker. The principal explained that there had been a plane crash at the World Trade Center. “I was looking out the window at the time, and I had this weird feeling even before the announcement came on. I had a gut feeling that something was wrong,” she says. “I knew he’d be down there because that’s what his unit did. They rescued people. None of us knew how serious it was at the time.”

NYPD Sergeant John Coughlin with his beloved daughters

A lot of her school friends had parents in the NYPD and the FDNY (New York City Fire Department), and on September 11th, most of those students got picked up from school early. But because her mother was a nurse, Erin knew that wouldn’t be the case for her. “When I got to my sixth-period chemistry class, my teacher announced that the buildings had crashed down, and they didn’t know if anyone made it out.”

Erin made her way home from school that day and the phone was ringing off the hook. Everybody was wondering if her father was okay. Her aunt came over to comfort the girls and they anxiously watched the news coverage of the attack. When Erin’s mother finally made it home, it was 10:00 at night, and she was exhausted from both work and worry. Then a call came through and Mrs. Coughlin was informed that her husband was officially listed as “missing.”

The Final Moments
Sergeant John Coughlin’s last radio transmission stated that his unit was on the 20th floor of the South Tower. “They grabbed all the stuff off the truck that day and they went in—ropes, harnesses, the whole bit. They just wanted to get people down the staircases as fast as they could,” says Erin. In the midst of the chaos, Sergeant Coughlin ran into an old high school friend. This friend actually made it out of the building and relayed his experience to Mrs. Coughlin. “He told my mother, ‘I saw him. He looked me in the eye and he said get out and run.’ I think that they all knew it was going to be bad. A few of the guys even found a way to quickly call home.”

“They just knew that the building was chockfull of humanity—from the dishwashers, to the window washers, to CEOs, and people visiting. There were people in those buildings and other human beings went in to get them out.” —Erin Coughlin

The Message
Even after 20 years, the memory of that agonizing time—the waiting, the uncertainty, the unbearable feeling of loss—still pains NYPD police officer Erin Coughlin. Thinking back to her father—a John Jay student and avowed history buff—she wants the next generation of public safety leaders to always remember one thing: the humanity of those we lost. “When they went into those buildings that day, they were grabbing people and helping them run away. It didn’t matter what they looked like, what they believed in, what political party they were in, or anything like that. They just knew that there were thousands of people in that building who had heartbeats,” says Erin. “They just knew that the building was chockfull of humanity—from the dishwashers, to the window washers, to CEOs, business people, and people visiting. There were people in those buildings and other human beings went in to get them out.”