The E-Files: 19 Years On…Fallen NYPD Sergeant Remains Remembered

January 31^st was a cold day. The year was 2004. On patrol in Manhattan was the Hercules Team, a task force comprised of NYPD Emergency Service Unit cops put together after the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center attack. Their purpose was to strengthen the security of locations around New York City that were especially vulnerable to terrorist attacks. It was there that Sergeant Keith Ferguson was assigned to supervise the team. His command by that point in his distinguished 17 year career was Emergency Service Squad 7 located at the 75^th precinct in Brooklyn.

Just after 2PM, a radio call went out from a patrol officer in foot pursuit of an illegal street vendor. He was enforcing the very quality of life policies that had made New York City the safest city in America. 

Sergeant Ferguson responded to the call and joined in the pursuit. After all, a key motto and standard that E-Cops have lived by since the unit came into existence in 1930 is to never say no to another cop. On that blistery Saturday in Manhattan, Keith wasn’t about to break tradition. 

On they chased, finally apprehending the vendor on the corner of Broadway & Grand Street in the Soho section of Manhattan. As soon as they did, Sergeant Keith Ferguson collapsed. Officers performed CPR and rushed him to St. Vincent’s Medical Center. Despite the best efforts of doctors, Keith died. He was just 38 years old. 

Keith’s career was a mixture of different assignments prior to his final stop in ESU. Coming on the job in 1987, he spent the vast majority of his career in Brooklyn. The 1st Precinct, the 67^th  Precinct, Narcotics, Auto Crime, Street Crime, and the Organized Crime Control Bureau were amongst the places he made a positive impact. Most impressive about Keith was that his service wasn’t limited to the streets of New York. A frequent traveler, Keith saw the world in many different facets. Just a week prior to his death, he had returned from the site of his latest trek, Australia. It would be in 1997 however, that he’d leave on another trip, not one for leisure and certainly not one for the faint of heart. The war torn land of Bosnia was his destination and it was there that Keith assisted his fellow man as a member of the International Police Task Force (IPTF). Not only did he assist in aiding law enforcement agencies, but he also helped to provide the basic necessities to the residents of the land. 

Retired NYPD Transit Chief Joe Fox remembered the man, affectionately known on the force as “Fergie”, as someone he saw “never not smiling”. Adding, “In my days as a mentor to others, one of the main things I speak about is personal and professional balance. Because when we lose that, we’re lost. He had balance.”

And grace, gumption and compassion. All of the things that not only make a good cop but make a good human being as well. So skilled was Keith in displaying those positive qualities that he was promoted to Sergeant in 1997. Another well deserved accolade in a career that surely contained a lot of them. 

Said Don Young, who worked alongside Keith on the Bosnian task force, “I first met Keith while we were both working for the International Police Task Force in Bosnia, in 1997. Keith was a great guy, always smiling and would lend a hand for any task. Sad day when he passed on.”

Fellow ESU cop John Busching, worked alongside the Sergeant in ESS 7. “He was a good guy and supervisor. He did well in the specialized training school.”

Whatever the challenge, the common theme of Keith’s life was poise & purpose. Whenever he saw a challenge, he did not shy away, he tackled it head on. That’s what you want in an E-Man. That’s how he succeeded in not just his career, but in his life as well.

Detective Robert Zajac, a longtime veteran of ESS 7 added of his late colleague, “Sgt. Ferguson was one of the nicest humans that you could have had the pleasure to meet. He was also a true Emergency Service Sergeant. There was no job that he couldn’t handle and or supervise. He would always bring an air of calmness when he would arrive on a scene. Precinct Commanders and ESU higher ups were always put at ease when they saw Keith, and they knew that the job was going to be handled the right way.”

Nearly two decades later, he is remembered not just through the stories told of him, but through the same gumption he showed in his 17 years of service to the City of New York. Turning her sorrow into a wonderful event, Keith’s mother created  Keith’s Race. A 5k walk and run that for 14 years has provided a chance for many to not only unite in running for a good cause, but offers a scholarship in Sergeant Ferguson’s name to a Criminal Justice student each year. 

Even posthumously, his good deeds have continued through the good name he left behind. Keith Ferguson’s life at 38 was cut far too short, but his legacy, like the department and unit he so loved, will be timeless.