Beloved NYPD trainer of elite Emergency Service Unit retires after more than 20 years

A beloved instructor for the NYPD’s elite Emergency Service Unit bade farewell to the department Thursday after more than two decades on the job in a rousing ceremony attended by scores of his fellow Finest.

Sgt. John Flynn’s formal walk off took place at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, home to the NYPD’s facility where Flynn trained many of the officers who are in the unit today. 

Dozens of officers from the Emergency Service Unit celebrated the man who they consider to be an institution within the department.

“The training to be able to do this work is not easy,” Flynn said to the crowd. “What I say to all my students on day one is ‘I’m not saying it’s going to be easy,’” Flynn said. But he added, “it is absolutely one of the most rewarding positions you could ever be involved in.”

“After leading 11 Emergency Service Unit classes and countless life-saving rescues, Sgt. John Flynn takes his final walkout,” the NYPD said in a statement. “A standard-bearer of excellence, his leadership shaped generations of NYPD heroes and safeguarded our city.”

Flynn was involved in numerous harrowing rescues and dangerous calls in a career that spanned more than two decades. 

The ESU is one of the most highly trained units of its kind in the county, dealing with a variety of complex, high-risk incidents like rescues and tactical situations. 

It is the unit, as one NYPD officer put it, that the cops call when the cops need help. 

Of the 23 officers who died responding to the 9/11 attacks, 14 of them were members of ESU. The 400-members of the unit deal with everything from hostage situations to disasters. 

Flynn’s career is a testimony to the unexpected and sometimes eccentric calls members of the team have responded to over the years.

Flynn recalled the most exciting moments of his career that was built on thrilling moments. 

State Police needed help with a hiker who had been bitten by a rattlesnake on Bear Mountain. Flynn hastily put together a crew and flew out.

“We were able to assess that patient, stabilize her, package her up, and hoisted her up on the side of the mountain about 100 feet up to the helicopter,” he said.

Flynn took pride in knowing he was saving one of his own – a New Yorker.

“What was amazing about it, she was from New York, from Brooklyn.” 

Flynn added: “She…was surprised to be bitten by a rattlesnake.”

She was in grave condition so they flew her to Nyack where the team landed on a football field and rushed her to a hospital. 

“She was saved with a significant amount of anti venom,” he said.  “Probably one of the wildest and most exciting moments of my entire career.”

Flynn credited his fellow officers for the city being so safe over the course of his career. He said its a tremendous obligation they take on every time they put on a uniform,

“We’re tasked with the responsibility of protecting the people who live and visit here and it’s an awesome responsibility,” Flynn said, “and is absolutely worth it.”