The Emergency Service Unit (ESU) is part of the Special Operations Bureau of the

New York City Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

and was formed in 1930. The unit provides specialized support and advanced equipment to other NYPD units. Members of ESU are cross-trained in multiple disciplines for

technical rescue Technical rescue is the use of specialised tools and skills for rescue, including but not limited to confined space rescue, rope rescue, trench rescue, structural collapse rescue, ice rescue, swift water rescue, underwater rescue, and cave rescue. ...

and

emergency medicine Emergency medicine is the medical specialty concerned with the care of illnesses or injuries requiring immediate medical attention. Emergency physicians (or "ER doctors") specialize in providing care for unscheduled and undifferentiated pa ...

disciplines alongside

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

. ESU is tasked with providing rescue, emergency care, tactical support, search warrant and

arrest warrant An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a judge or magistrate on behalf of the state which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual or the search and seizure of an individual's property. Canada Arrest warrants are issued by a jud ...

service,

police dog A police dog, also known as a K-9 (phonemic abbreviation of canine), is a dog that is trained to assist police and other law enforcement officers. Their duties may include searching for drugs and explosives, locating missing people, findin ...

support, and

hazardous materials Dangerous goods are substances that are a risk to health, safety, property or the Natural environment, environment during transport. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials (syll ...

handling. As of 2024, ESU consists of approximately 350 officers across multiple " squads" divided by

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

sections and purposes.

History

On July 7, 1925,

Police Commissioner A police commissioner is the head of a police department, responsible for overseeing its operations and ensuring the effective enforcement of laws and maintenance of public order. They develop and implement policies, manage budgets, and coordinate ...

Richard E. Enright established the Emergency Automobile Squad (EAS), the forerunner to the modern ESU. The EAS was created to address the urbanization, motorization, and growth of New York City in the first quarter of the 20th century that left regular officers, who mostly conducted foot patrols, unable to address every

call for service A call for service (CFS, also known as a job, hitch, incident, callout, call-out, or simply a call) is an incident that emergency services or public safety organizations (such as police, fire departments, and emergency medical services) are assi ...

. The first two units, Squad 1 (Manhattan/Bronx) and Squad 2 (Brooklyn/Queens) were staffed by six sergeants and 44 officers. In September 1926, Police Commissioner George McLaughlin formed Squad 3 (Bronx) and renamed the EAS to the Emergency Service Squad (ESS). In May 1928, Police Commissioner Joseph A. Warren doubled the number of existing units. By 1929, the ESS consisted of 11 trucks and was staffed by over 250 sergeants and patrolmen, with an additional nine trucks and over 200 more personnel scheduled to be added in January 1930. From its inception, ESS had been under the control of precinct commanders, who lacked the training and expertise necessary for the efficient use of the unit's manpower and equipment. On April 10, 1930, Police Commissioner Grover A. Whalen issued General Order #20, which created the Emergency Service Division and placed it under the command of Inspector Daniel E. Kerr. Since its inception, the ESU and its predecessors had well-armed officers who effectively served as the NYPD's

SWAT A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations. SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to res ...

. The Apprehension Tactical Team, the full-time citywide tactical unit of the NYPD, was formally organized under the ESU in 1989.

Structure

ESU is always on patrol (all three

tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

, 365 days a year) with ten Heavy Rescue trucks, each ordinarily manned by a police officer and a sergeant, and often more than twice as many smaller Radio Emergency Patrol vehicles containing two ESU officers. There are also two or more citywide patrol sergeants or lieutenants in unmarked vehicles on duty at all times to supervise ESU operations where needed. These are called "U-Cars" over NYPD radio; they patrol as either U-5 (Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island) or U-4 (Manhattan, the Bronx) and respond to major incidents within their assigned boroughs for the tour.

Field organizations

The 10 Emergency Service Squads (ESS) (or "Trucks") are divided geographically as: * ESS-1 ( Manhattan South) * ESS-2 ( Manhattan North) * ESS-3 ( Bronx South) * ESS 4 ( Bronx North) * ESS-5 (

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

) * ESS-6 (

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

South) * ESS-7 (Brooklyn East) * ESS-8 (Brooklyn North) * ESS-9 (

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

South) * ESS-10 (Queens North) * ESS-11 (

Floyd Bennett Field Floyd Bennett Field is an airfield in the Marine Park, Brooklyn, Marine Park neighborhood of southeast Brooklyn in New York City, along the shore of Jamaica Bay. The airport originally hosted commercial and general aviation traffic before bein ...

) (support vehicle assigned to SOD/ESU headquarters) * ESS-14 Hazmat/Rescue Truck * Additional specialized vehicles strategically stored at designated squad locations

Apprehension Tactical Team

The Apprehension Tactical Team, nicknamed the "A-Team", is ESU's full-time

police tactical unit A police tactical unit (PTU) is a specialized police unit trained and equipped to handle situations that are beyond the capabilities of ordinary law enforcement units because of the level of violence (or risk of violence) involved. The tasks of a ...

with citywide jurisdiction. A-Team members strictly perform tactical missions which, on a day-to-day basis, are typically high-risk search warrants. The A-Team can be called upon to support any unit within the NYPD, as well as state and federal law enforcement and out-of-city law enforcement elsewhere in

New York state New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

and the

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also called the Tri-State area and sometimes referred to as Greater New York, is the List of cities by GDP, largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP, gross metropo ...

if necessary. The A-Team is widely considered to have the highest operational tempo of any SWAT unit in the United States, performing up to 800–1,000 deployments per year ranging from raids and tactical interventions to security deployments and backup calls. A-Team members are recruited from within ESU based on team needs in a highly-selective process. A-Team members are required to maintain all of their periodic ESU certifications and must be able to support the ESU on any type of operation should the need arise.

Canine Team

The Canine Team has 44

s that assist in searches for perpetrators and missing persons. The unit includes three

bloodhound The bloodhound is a large scent hound, originally bred for hunting deer, wild boar, rabbits, and since the Middle Ages, for tracking people. Believed to be descended from hounds once kept at the Abbey of Saint-Hubert, Belgium, in French it is ...

s and several dogs cross-trained in

cadaver A cadaver, often known as a corpse, is a Death, dead human body. Cadavers are used by medical students, physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites, determine causes of death, and provide tissue (biology), tissue to ...

recovery. The ESU canines are an integral part of the US-TF1 Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Team as deployed by the

Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...

(FEMA).

Hazmat/Weapons of Mass Destruction Team

The Hazmat/Weapons of Mass Destruction Team is tasked with investigating and responding to any chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive (CBRNE) incidents. They also assist the Bomb Squad on suspicious package calls.

Emergency Medical Squad

The Emergency Medical Squad is tasked with providing care to NYPD officers and their families, alongside any other victims where required, during medical emergencies without having to wait for

New York City Fire Department Bureau of EMS The New York City Fire Department Bureau of Emergency Medical Services (FDNY EMS) is a division of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) in charge of emergency medical services for New York City. It was established on March 17, 1996, followi ...

medics. Officers assigned to the Emergency Medical Squad are licensed EMTs with prior experience. They are headquartered in Queens.

Vehicles

ESU operates numerous special-purpose vehicles, including: * 11 Heavy Rescue trucks, referred to as "Trucks", built by firefighting apparatus assembler E-One Inc. They serve as police equivalents to

rescue vehicle A rescue vehicle is a specialized vehicle designed to transport and provide the equipment necessary for technical rescue. Vehicles carry an array of special equipment such as the jaws of life, wooden Cribbing (rescue), cribbing, Electric gene ...

s of the kind operated by the

New York City Fire Department The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for providing Fi ...

. * 40 Radio Emergency Patrol (REP) trucks, referred to as "Cars", built by Odyssey Specialty Vehicles. Each REP carries rescue equipment, medical equipment, forcible entry tools, and

scuba set A scuba set, originally just scuba, is any breathing apparatus that is entirely carried by an underwater diving, underwater diver and provides the diver with breathing gas at the ambient pressure. ''Scuba'' is an anacronym for self-contained un ...

s. * Four Lenco BearCat, one Lenco BEAR, two Cadillac Gage Peacekeepers, and one International Photo Observation Truck, used as armored

SWAT vehicle A Tactical Police vehicle, SWAT vehicle, police armored vehicle, or police rescue vehicle is a non-military armored vehicle used by police tactical units to respond to incidents. They are most often in configurations similar to Military light u ...

s. * Two

ambulance An ambulance is a medically-equipped vehicle used to transport patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to ...

s operated by the Emergency Medical Squad. * 14 portable light tower generator units, four mobile light generator pickup trucks, an unknown number of 100 kW Mobile Auxiliary Light Trucks (MALTs), and several other 60 kW, 90 kW, 100 kW and 200 kW generators stationed throughout New York City. * At least one Construction Accident Response Vehicle (CARV), a box truck carrying equipment used to stabilize structures and rescue trapped victims following construction accidents. * At least one Emergency Support Vehicle (ESV), a utility truck that can carry a rigid inflatable boat and a deployable rescue airbag. * An unknown number of Zodiac Nautic inflatable boats and 12

jet ski A personal watercraft (PWC), also called Jet Ski or water scooter, is a primarily recreational watercraft that is designed to hold only a small number of occupants, who sit or stand on top of the craft, not within the craft as in a boat. P ...

s for marine capabilities.

Recruitment

There are minimum time-in-grade requirements before an NYPD officer can apply to transfer to ESU. Police Officers must have a minimum of 5 years in the department with a minimum annual rating of 3.5. Supervisors in the rank of sergeants and lieutenants must have 2 years in rank before being assigned to ESU. In addition, all ESU candidates must be approved by a group of current ESU members to ensure that they will integrate into the unit successfully. Applicants have to complete the Specialized Training School over eight months receiving training in multiple disciplines including tactical, search and rescue, hazardous materials containment and become certified in

SCUBA diving Scuba diving is a Diving mode, mode of underwater diving whereby divers use Scuba set, breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface breathing gas supply, and therefore has a limited but variable endurance. The word ''scub ...

and as an

Emergency Medical Technician An emergency medical technician (often, more simply, EMT) is a medical professional that provides emergency medical services. EMTs are most commonly found serving on ambulances and in fire departments in the US and Canada, as full-time and som ...

. Tactical training includes room clearing, team movements, close quarter battle, a week of active shooter training and three weeks of specialized and heavy weapons training. ESU officers are equipped with the Colt M4 Commando rifle.

Casualties/line of duty deaths

ESU lost more members (14 out of 23 NYPD officers) than any other NYPD unit during the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

In popular culture

Books

* ''330 Park'' by Stanley Cohen * ''Sniper's Moon'' by Carsten Stroud * ''E-Man: Life in the NYPD Emergency Service Unit'' by Al Sheppard * ''NYPD – On the Streets with the Emergency Service Unit'' by Samuel Katz (1995) * ''Anytime, Anywhere!'' by Samuel Katz (1997) * ''Uncommon Valor: Insignia of the NYPD Emergency Service Unit'' by Andrew G. Nelson (2015) * ''Uncommon Valor II: Challenge Coins of the NYPD Emergency Service Unit'' by Andrew G. Nelson (2017) * ''Some Very Special Men – The Emergency Service to the Rescue'' by Cy Egan (1974) * ''Police Emergency Squad No, 1'' by Stephen H. Schwartz (1974)

Films

* '' Fourteen Hours'' (1951) * '' Leon'' (1994) (also known as ''The Professional'' and ''Léon: The Professional'') * ''

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...

'' (1998) * '' The Bone Collector'' (1999) * '' Bringing Out the Dead'' (1999) * '' Phone Booth'' (2002) * ''

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

'' (2005) * '' Inside Man'' (2006) * '' 16 Blocks'' (2006) * '' World Trade Center'' (2006) * ''

The Day the Earth Stood Still ''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' is a 1951 American science fiction film from 20th Century Fox, produced by Julian Blaustein and directed by Robert Wise. It stars Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe, Billy Gray, F ...

'' (2008) * ''

Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is a comic book Limited series (comics), limited series by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins (comics), John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 19 ...

'' (2009) * '' The Taking of Pelham 123'' (2009)

Television series

* '' 24'' (season 8 only, 2018) * '' Elementary'' (2012–2019) * '' The Blacklist (season 6)'' (Episode 2) ESU guards escorting Reddington * '' Blue Bloods'' (2010–present) * ''

Brooklyn Nine-Nine ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' is an American police procedural sitcom television series that aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox, and later on NBC, from September 17, 2013, to September 16, 2021, for eight seasons and 153 episodes. Created by Dan G ...

'' (2018) * ''

Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

'' (2009–2016) * '' CSI: NY'' (2004–13) * '' FBI: Most Wanted'' (Season 3, Ep.9 "Run-Hide-Fight". Some scenes) * ''

Homeland A homeland is a place where a national or ethnic identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethnic natio ...

'' (2017) * ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

'' (1990–2010, 2022–present), and its various spinoffs **'' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', ''L&O: SVU'' (1999–present) **'' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'', ''L&O:CI'' (2001–11) **'' Law & Order: Trial by Jury'', ''L&O:TBJ'' (2005–06) **'' Law & Order: Organized Crime'', ''L&O: OC'' (2021–present) * '' Luke Cage'' (2016) * '' Manifest (season 2)'' (E8) ESU assisting with Suicide Jumper * ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble ca ...

'' (1993–2005) * '' Only Murders in the Building'' (season 1) * ''

Person of Interest "Person of interest" is a term used by law enforcement in the United States, Canada, and other countries when identifying someone possibly involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. It has no leg ...

'' (2011–2016) * ''

Third Watch ''Third Watch'' is an American crime drama television series created by John Wells and Edward Allen Bernero that aired on NBC from September 23, 1999, to May 6, 2005, with a total of 132 episodes spanning over six seasons. It was produced ...

'' (1999–2005) * '' True Blue'' (1989–1990) * '' Three Body Problem'' (2024)

Video games

* '' Max Payne''

References

External links

NYPD official website

''EMS World magazine'' July 2018 issue ''For Big Trouble in the Big Apple, Call the ESU''
* {{authority control Emergency Service Unit 1920 establishments in New York City Police tactical units