NEW YORK CITY, NY – As America marks the 18th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that killed 2,997 and injured more than 6,000 people, the ongoing deathly effects of these acts of terrorism continue to take lives.
Since September 11, 2001 when 23 New York Police Department (NYPD) officers died in the collapse of the World Trade Center, 9/11 remains the single biggest killer of officers in the nation's largest police force. In fact, 241 members of the NYPD officers have now died of 9/11-related illnesses due to exposure from the dust and rubble. Last year alone, 15 officers died of cancer and other illnesses contracted during their service on or immediately after Sept. 11, 2001.