(WXYZ) — September 11, 2001 is a day we will never forget. The tragedy that unfolded that day affected so many lives, including the first responders who responded with courage, sacrifice, and unity.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard led a team of men and women from Michigan to New York City to help after the attacks. He joins us for the 7 UpFront segment to talk about it.
You can see the full interview in the video player above.
"I was actually in my office, sitting in the chair with a staff meeting going on and we started getting information about the attack going on. Like everybody, we turned on the TV and focused on it developing live, and my initial thought was this is an attack because it was a clear, sunny, blue day, those are huge towers, it's pretty hard to imagine it's an accident for a plane to crash into that tower and when the second one was struck it was obvious," Bouchard says. "So the first thing was did was to make sure Oakland County was on a safe footing as possible because in the fog of that day if you recall, no one knew how extensive the attacks might be or what might be targeted, so we stood up all sorts of activity in Oakland County to make us much better prepared for any potential and to get that squared away. About that time, I got a call from New York, I was and am Head of Government Affairs for Major Counties of America and they asked for help."
