NYPD brass and Mayor Eric Adams gathered in Lower Manhattan Tuesday to honor the lives of fallen NYPD officers who perished from 9/11-related illnesses and gun violence.
Families wept as they looked upon the New York City Police Memorial wall located at Liberty Street and South End Avenue moments after the names of their lost loved ones had been revealed on the wall.
“This is one of the most difficult days of the year but it’s also one of the most important because today we renew a promise we made to 42 New York City Police Department heroes. We promise to honor their service, to remember their sacrifice and to always be there for their families. And while we can never repay the debt we owe them, we can and always will keep that promise,” interim Police Commissioner Thomas Donlon said. “Every name on this wall represents a life of service but also so much more. They were sons, daughters, fathers, mothers and wives.”
Detective Troy Patterson was among those whose name has been etched into the wall. At just 27 years old, Patterson was gunned down while washing his car on January 16, 1990. For the next 33 years, he lived in a coma before succumbing to his injuries in 2023.
Others immortalized include 9/11 responders who died after long battles with cancers brought about by the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.
“When we come here today, we come here to acknowledge the [42] individuals and heroes who died from long-standing 9/11 injuries and our two officers who died from being a victim of gun violence,” Mayor Adams said. “We’re saying from 1849 the continuation of really acknowledging what they mean to our city and our country. This is the greatest country on the globe, and this is the greatest city on the globe because of their sacrifices.”
The solemn event concluded with both police officers and the families of the fallen paying their respects at the wall.
