At 8 years-old, from his house in New York, he saw the fall of the World Trade Center towers. Today, he wears the NYPD uniform.

On September 11, 2001, Daniel Silva Amaral was 8 years-old and  in the primary school of St. Anthony’s Church, in Lower Manhattan.

The world for him, at the time, was made up of dreams and fantasies – as it is for any child that age.

When the Twin Towers were attacked, in one of the most serious terrorist incidents  American soil, everything would change in his life.

“I remember that I was already at school that morning, and suddenly, they took us to the Church’s cave,” said Daniel Amaral. “They did not give us big explanations, only that our parents were going to pick us up. Since my parents were working, it was my grandmother, who lived with us, that took me home. We ran across the blocks and we saw everything from our apartment’s terrace.”

The Luso-American has a vivid memory that, at the time, “all I knew is it was something really bad. Only later, when I was older, I understood it was a terrorist attack.”

This event created big changes in Amaral’s life: right after the attack, his family moved from Lower Manhattan to New Jersey, establishing themselves in Kearny, where Daniel, then in the fourth grade, would finish his primary and secondary education. However, years later, that boy who had his innocence stolen by terrorism would become a proud member of the NYPD – the same police department that lost more than twenty officers on September 11.

The coincidences do not end there… “I have a maternal uncle, João Poejo who not only was an NYPD officer, but also was one of the officers that responded to the emergency call at the Twin Towers on September 11” said Daniel Amaral. “My uncle is a very important figure in my life, like my father, and was a huge influence in the career that I decided to follow.”

The officer Amaral studied Criminal Justice at Kean University, in New Jersey, where he graduated in 2014. In July of 2017, he was selected to train at the NYPD Academy. One year later, at only 24 years-old, he joins the most famous police department of the planet and becomes one of its 55 thousand employees. “I believe that I always wanted to be a police officer, but I made the decision already in college” states the Luso-American officer. “And as I already said, my uncle João, who retired as sergeant, had a strong influence in my decision.”

Today, at 27 years-old, Daniel Amaral patrols the streets of the Lower East Side neighborhood, in Lower Manhattan, with the 7th Precinct of the NYPD.

Carlos Amaral’s father is from Vila Verde, a neighborhood in the municipality of Seia (Guarda). His mother Maria was born in New Jersey, daughter of an immigrant from the same region of Portugal. “They met each other in Newark and later moved to Manhattan” said the officer. “We lived at Sullivan Street, in the heart of a local Portuguese Community. My sister and I were born at the St. Vincent Hospital, in the West Village.

Officer Amaral recognizes that his career choice worried his parents, “but they fully supported me because they knew that I chose what I like to do the most, which is to help others. When you join the police department,” adds the Luso-American, who expects to advance in his career and become a sergeant like his uncle, “you are aware of the nature of this profession. We just cannot think about the dangers that we face every time we go to work to not become paranoid.”

The Amaral family is connected to their home country. Carlos, the father, belongs to a group called Amigos de Vila Verde USA (in English, Friends from Vila Verde USA), which raised funds for social issues in the region. Two years ago, Daniel visited Porto for the first time, he says “I enjoyed it a lot. I also had a trip scheduled for this year. I was going to my cousin’s house, but because of Covid-19 everything was postponed. I hope to go in 2021.”

He ends saying: “What makes me proud of my roots/heritage is belonging to a country that, although not  one of the most well-known, fills us with happiness with its hard working, and socially responsible people.”