Ex-ESU cop dies of 9/11-linked woe
On the day of the Sept. 11 attacks, NYPD Officer Paul Johnson arrived at Ground Zero just as the second tower fell — narrowly escaping death.
But the months of digging for dead bodies amid toxic fumes eventually caught up to the Emergency Service Unit cop.
Johnson died early Sunday at his South Carolina home after a long battle with pulmonary fibrosis, family said. He was 60.
Johnson was diagnosed with the lung disease in 2010 — seven years after he retired from the force, his daughterin-law said.
“It was really hard for him when he got sick because he was a go-go-go kind of guy,” Nicole Kennedy said.
“His plans for retirement was to just camp with his family — that's what he loved to do."
After watching so many of his friends die from 9/11related illnesses, the Long Island native vowed to never give up on his health, even as doctors struggled to treat him.
In 2015, the retired cop spoke to the Daily News, urging readers to pay attention to the many first responders who were “dropping dead.”
Two weeks before his death, Johnson wrote on his Facebook page: “Well it's been 6 days and I'm still in ICU. Fighting hard.”
“He would always say, live your life to the fullest because tomorrow is never promised,” Kennedy, 34, said. “He was a superhuman, tougher than anyone I knew.”
Johnson joined the NYPD in 1987 as a transit cop. He dreamed of becoming a firefighter, his family said, but failed the physical fitness test by mere seconds.
He eventually went on to join the Emergency Service Unit with Truck 7, where he stayed until his retirement in 2003.
“He said that becoming a cop was the best decision he ever made,” Kennedy said. “He loved being a cop. Even when he was very, very ill he said he would do it all over again.”
Born in June 1958, Johnson lived most of his life in Suffolk County, L.I. He moved to Fort Mill, S.C., after leaving the NYPD.
Johnson was the quintessential family man, with nine children and 19 grandchildren.
In retirement, he coached softball and soccer games and doted on his three youngest kids — two daughters, ages 12 and 19, and a 13-year-old son.
“He was there if you needed him,” his heartbroken son, Frank Kennedy, 35, said. “He was our hero.”