Retired NYPD Officer Reunites With the First Responders Who Saved His Life

A retired New York City police officer has reunited with the first responders and medical team who helped save his life after he suffered multiple cardiac emergencies during a hockey tournament in Florida.

Joe Gomes, 64, was playing in a first responders’ hockey tournament at the Florida Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs on September 11, 2026, when he suddenly collapsed.

Gomes had been involved in law enforcement for two decades and had also spent months supporting fellow first responders at Ground Zero after the September 11 attacks. Twenty-five years later, he found himself needing emergency help from other first responders.

Gomes had just made a play when he began feeling that something was wrong. He returned toward the bench and then collapsed.

Several players immediately recognized the emergency. They began performing CPR while others removed his hockey equipment and prepared an automated external defibrillator, or AED. Six first responders from several South Florida agencies worked together during the initial rescue effort.

One of them was Jessica Herman, a Jupiter Fire Rescue paramedic who had known Gomes for more than 15 years. She said the situation became particularly personal because she had known him since she was a teenager.

The AED was used to restore Gomes’ heart rhythm, and he was transported to Broward Health Coral Springs.

His medical emergency did not end at the hospital. Gomes experienced another cardiac event in the emergency department and was taken for an urgent cardiac procedure. Doctors inserted a stent to restore blood flow through a blocked artery.

Despite the severity of the incident, Gomes was discharged the following day. Doctors reported that he had no neurological damage, and his heart had not suffered significant lasting loss of function.

Just days later, Gomes returned to the hospital — this time to meet the people who had helped save him.

At a September 23 reunion, he thanked firefighters, paramedics, doctors and nurses involved in his treatment. Broward Health also presented him with a Gift of Life Award.

Gomes said he was grateful not only for the medical treatment but also for the immediate response from his fellow players.

The experience has also changed the way he looks at his own life. Although he had spent much of his career responding to emergencies involving other people, this time he was the person lying on the ice while others rushed to help.

Gomes is now recovering and has said he plans to remain involved in hockey. He was expected to return to the rink as a referee, rather than a player, shortly after his recovery.

For Gomes, the reunion provided an opportunity to meet face-to-face with the people whose rapid actions turned a medical emergency into a survival story.

Sources:
WSVN – Former 9/11 first responder reunites with Coral Springs medical team
Local 10 – Retired NYPD officer collapses during 9/11 hockey tournament
Coral Springs Talk – Joe Gomes reunites with first responders and medical teams