Today’s meeting aligned with the 24th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, so we were very pleased to be joined by two longstanding Metro Nashville Police Department officers, Brad Burns and Stephen “Sparky” Coleman.
Both of these men carry a deep tie to the city through their careers — dating back to their respective graduations from Father Ryan High School in 1992 and 1987 — and their affection for Music City led to their desire to serve their fellow Nashvillians.
Coleman’s last two decades with the MNPD came as a member of the K-9 Unit, and his memories with the dogs with whom he served remain with him today. “I wanted to get the most out of my job,” he said. “So going in with the dog, it’s dangerous, but when you get to take the dog with you, it becomes a very lasting relationship, they become your family – more than just an animal.”
Burns remembered his father calling him in the midst of the destruction of the Twin Towers, alerting him of the plane crashes. “Oftentimes we think the violence isn’t going to happen here, or it’s not going to happen to us,” he said. “But to me, September 11 was a rude awakening, a reminder of the hate out there and that they want to get us.”
“You saw people getting ready that morning, getting ready to go to work, having no idea what was going to happen,” Coleman added. “The one thing that you see in the videos or any of the news footage, you never see any of the first responders run away. Everything that you see — you see them run back into those buildings, you see them running into the dust — they knew it, they knew that there was a chance that they were going to perish, and they still went back.
“Heroes, that’s it, plain and simple.”
Asked the impact of their faith in such a harrowing position, both responded that they carry medals of St. Christopher on a daily basis. Coleman also recalled a prayer that he would pray in his head whenever he was responding to a call: “God, just guide my hands and guide my feet.”
Thank you to Sparky Coleman and Sgt. Brad Burns for joining us this morning to share your insights from your careers and the continued impact of September 11 on our lives. We’ll see you all for our next meeting on October 9!
