There is a saying among police officers: “When people are in trouble, they call the cops. When cops are in trouble, they call Emergency Service.” Santos Valentin Jr., a member of the New York Police Department’s Emergency Service Squad 7, answered the call on Sept. 11.
Officer Valentin was a sharpshooter trained in counterterrorism tactics, said his sister, Sgt. Denise Valentin, and his family thought that if anyone could come out alive in this attack, it would be him.
What have lived on are the memories – of the jokes he played on his colleagues, of how he loved his dog, Luger (so much that he would leave the Animal Planet channel on for him when he was not home), of his love for family and friends, and of his bravery. Officer Valentin was not afraid of death, but he did hate funerals. So, a few days ago, his family gave him a send-off at the rubble of the World Trade Center, where he was last seen. He loved his Budweiser, so they poured him a can and said their goodbyes.
– The New York Times 10/06/2001
Police Officer Santos Valentin Jr., 39, was appointed to the NYPD on January 4, 1984, and began his career on patrol in Neighborhood Stabilization Unit 4. Prior to being assigned to ESU 7 in March 1996, he worked in the 19 Precinct and the Street Crime Unit. A graduate of the Academy of Aeronautics, he was a mechanic before joining the NYPD. He was a longtime member of the Boy Scouts of America, where he had risen to the rank of Life Scout. His hobbies included golfing, fishing, gun collecting, aeronautics, camping, and white-water rafting. He is survived by his parents Gloria and Santos Sr.; sisters Alida, Denise and Rosa; and brothers Eduardo and Elliott. Denise is an NYPD sergeant assigned to the Patrol Borough Manhattan South.
– SPRING 3100, Commemorative Issue
We honor you, Santos Valentin Jr.