🚨 First Responder Accounts: The Bronx Exorcism – NYPD Sergeant Ralph Sarchie
The true story of a veteran New York police sergeant whose life was changed forever after confronting a violent case of alleged demonic possession in the Bronx.
Introduction – From the Streets to the Supernatural
Ralph Sarchie’s story begins in the heart of New York City, where he grew up surrounded by the noise, grit, and unrelenting pace of urban life. Born on June 14, 1962, he came of age in a city where the police force was both a shield and a symbol of authority. Drawn to the idea of protecting the community, he joined the NYPD in the early 1980s, serving in the 46th Precinct in the South Bronx. It was an area with one of the highest crime rates in the city, a place where danger could appear on any corner and survival required quick thinking and resolve.
From the moment he pinned on the badge, Sarchie was steeped in a world of tangible threats: armed robberies, gang disputes, domestic violence, and drug trafficking. His work demanded evidence, procedure, and a reliance on what could be seen and proven. While his Catholic faith was a constant in his personal life, he had no interest in the paranormal beyond the rituals and traditions he had grown up with. Ghosts, demons, and possession were, to his mind, subjects for films and folklore, not the concern of a hard-edged Bronx cop.
For years, his career followed the expected path: long shifts on patrol, dangerous callouts, and a steady climb in experience and rank. He became known as a level-headed, dependable officer who could handle himself under pressure. But that world, built on the certainties of law enforcement, began to shift unexpectedly in 1990, when a single book would open a door he never knew existed.
It was Satan’s Harvest, the account of a possession case investigated by famed demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren. Something about the story unsettled him. It wasn’t fear, but a recognition, a feeling that there were forms of evil he couldn’t handcuff, book, and send through the system. Intrigued, he sought out the Warrens, attending their lectures and studying their work. This was the first small step away from the streets he knew so well and into a shadow world where the enemies wore no faces and the weapons were faith and resolve.
In the months that followed, he quietly began assisting in cases involving alleged hauntings and possessions. At first, he treated them like any investigation, interviewing witnesses, gathering accounts, and looking for rational explanations. But the more he saw, the more those explanations failed to fit. The Bronx exorcism would be the case that finally shattered any remaining doubt, forcing him to accept that the supernatural was not a distant myth but an active, dangerous force that could erupt in the most ordinary of places.
Becoming a Police Officer
Sarchie’s path to the NYPD began with a fascination for law enforcement that dated back to his teenage years. He admired the discipline, authority, and sense of service the job demanded. He was drawn to the idea that police officers were protectors and problem-solvers, capable of stepping into chaos and restoring order. After applying and being accepted into the NYPD Police Academy, he entered an environment designed to break down and rebuild recruits into disciplined public servants.
The Academy was a crucible. It demanded physical endurance, mental toughness, and an unwavering commitment to procedure. Sarchie learned the essentials of firearms training, defensive tactics, high-pressure decision-making, and the precise application of New York law. He was drilled in crowd control, arrest procedures, and the psychology of dealing with volatile individuals. By the time he graduated, he carried with him not only the badge but a mindset forged for survival in one of the most dangerous urban landscapes in America.
When he was assigned to the 46th Precinct, he entered a zone known to officers as one of the most active and perilous postings in New York City. The South Bronx in the 1980s was shaped by poverty, gang rivalries, and the crack epidemic, with violence an almost daily occurrence. Sarchie’s work was relentless: foot chases through alleys, tense domestic disputes, and rapid responses to calls that could turn deadly in moments. Every patrol required vigilance, and every encounter carried the possibility of escalation.
This was policing stripped to its core, where instinct and quick judgment were as vital as procedure. Over the years, Sarchie became adept at reading people, assessing threats in seconds, and maintaining composure under extreme pressure. These same skills, though he didn’t know it at the time, would later serve him in an entirely different arena, one where the threats could not be cuffed or booked, and where the enemy was unseen but no less real.
The Lead-Up to the Exorcism
By the time 1990 arrived, Sarchie was a seasoned officer who had seen more than his share of the worst humanity could offer. But his life took a turn when he picked up Satan’s Harvest, a chilling account of demonic possession investigated by Ed and Lorraine Warren. It was more than a story to him, it resonated on a deeper level, raising questions about evil that his police work had never been able to answer.
Intrigued, he sought out the Warrens in person, attending their lectures and quietly absorbing their methods. Their blend of investigative discipline and unwavering belief in the supernatural struck a chord. Soon, he was volunteering to assist in cases, initially acting as a practical hand, providing security, interviewing witnesses, and approaching claims with a detective’s scepticism.
Those early cases were a strange mix of the explainable and the inexplicable. Sometimes a creaking floorboard or a faulty appliance could account for a report. Other times, the events defied reason: objects moving without cause, sudden drops in temperature, and witnesses describing identical apparitions without any chance of collusion.
Through his growing network in the Warrens’ circle, Sarchie became the go-to man when a case in New York City called for someone with both investigative skill and the physical presence to keep people safe. It was through this channel that he first heard of the Bronx case, a woman in desperate need, a priest ready to perform an exorcism, and a volatile situation that could turn violent. Sarchie agreed to help, not knowing this would be the night that would redefine his understanding of evil.
The Bronx Exorcism
The call came not through NYPD channels but from his growing network of demonologists and clergy. A woman in the Bronx was reportedly possessed, and a team of investigators and a Catholic priest were preparing for an exorcism. Sarchie’s role was to provide physical control, ensuring the safety of everyone in the room, and, if necessary, preventing the woman from harming herself or others.
The apartment was dimly lit, the curtains drawn despite the late afternoon sun outside. Religious icons had been placed on every surface: crucifixes, bottles of holy water, rosary beads. The air was heavy, thick with the scent of incense and something else Sarchie couldn’t quite name, an acrid, metallic tang that clung to the back of the throat.
When the woman was brought into the room, she seemed almost fragile, her shoulders hunched, her head down. But when the prayers began, the change was immediate and shocking. Her body stiffened, her eyes snapped open, pupils dilated to the point where the irises nearly disappeared, and a guttural voice poured from her mouth, a sound so deep and resonant it seemed impossible for her small frame.
The strength she displayed was beyond reason. Sarchie, a seasoned officer accustomed to wrestling violent suspects into submission, found himself straining to hold her down as she thrashed and bucked against the restraints. She cursed in languages she did not speak, her voice alternating between shrill screams and an inhuman growl. Her skin grew clammy and cold, yet she seemed to radiate an oppressive heat that made the small room stifling.
At one point, she lunged forward with such force that it took three men to drag her back. Her teeth snapped inches from Sarchie’s arm as she tried to bite him. A sudden silence fell, her body going rigid, her eyes rolling back until only the whites showed. In that stillness, a deep, mocking laugh filled the room, but her lips never moved.
The priest continued the rite, his voice firm and unyielding. The woman’s body contorted in unnatural ways, her spine arching, limbs twisting. Objects in the room rattled and shifted; a small framed picture fell from a shelf without anyone near it. The acrid smell intensified, mingling with the waxy scent of burning candles.
A doctor present checked her vitals between bouts of violence. Her heart rate, inexplicably, remained dangerously low, a physiological impossibility given her exertion. The medical anomaly, coupled with the sheer ferocity of her resistance, left Sarchie convinced they were dealing with something beyond human.
After hours of prayer and struggle, the woman collapsed into unconsciousness. The room felt lighter, the oppressive heat dissipating, though the lingering smell of incense and something darker remained. For Sarchie, there was no going back. The line between his life as a cop and his life as a demonologist had been crossed forever.
How His World Changed Forever
The Bronx exorcism did not just convince Sarchie of the existence of evil, it altered the very framework through which he saw the world. The cop who had once relied solely on evidence and procedure now recognised a second battlefield, one fought in whispers and shadows, in prayer and defiance. His understanding of danger expanded beyond knives, guns, and human malice to include something far older, intelligent, and profoundly malicious.
In the days following, he found himself replaying the night’s events in his mind: the inhuman voice, the unnatural contortions, the way the air seemed to thicken with each prayer. These were not the kind of threats his NYPD training had prepared him for, yet they felt no less urgent. In fact, they felt more insidious because they could not be arrested, prosecuted, or locked away.
From that point forward, “The Work” was no longer a side interest, it was a calling. Sarchie dedicated his nights to helping those under spiritual attack, applying the same persistence and courage he had honed on the streets. He approached each case with the mindset of both an investigator and a soldier in a larger, unseen war. Every knock on a frightened family’s door, every whispered request from a desperate priest, carried the weight of that night in the Bronx.
Over the years, Sarchie helped with more than 20 formal exorcisms and countless cleansings. His cases took him into private homes, abandoned buildings, and churches across New York City. He often carried holy water and blessed medals in his patrol car, a reminder that at any moment, he might be called to confront the same darkness that had stared back at him in that dim Bronx apartment.
Life After the NYPD
Sarchie retired from the NYPD around 2004. Free from the constraints of police duty, he devoted himself full-time to demonology. His memoir, Beware the Night, co-written with Lisa Collier Cool, detailed his most disturbing cases and became the basis for the 2014 film Deliver Us from Evil, in which Eric Bana portrayed a fictionalised version of him.
Today, Sarchie remains a prominent figure in the world of religious demonology, lecturing and consulting on cases. The Bronx exorcism remains a touchstone in his life, the night a no-nonsense NYPD sergeant crossed a threshold from the streets of the South Bronx into a battle with something far older and far darker.
Are You a Police Officer, Paramedic, Firefighter, or Security Guard?
Have you experienced something you still can’t explain while on duty? This series shares true accounts from first responders who encountered the unexplainable: ghosts, UFOs, cryptids, and strange events that defy classification.
If you're a police officer, paramedic, firefighter, or security guard,whether civilian or military, and you've witnessed something that stayed with you, we want to hear your story.
This is a space where your experience will be taken seriously. You can remain anonymous if needed. What happened to you matters, and others may have experienced something similar.
Not a first responder, but still have a true paranormal story to share? We welcome those too. If you've encountered something you can't explain, you're invited to send it in.