Governor Hochul recognizes 101 fallen police officers, orders state landmarks to be illuminated blue

ALBANY, N.Y. (WHEC) — Gov. Kathy Hochul recognizes 101 police officers who gave their lives in service to communities across New York State.

The memorial event honored 18 police officers who died in the line of duty and 83 who died from Ground Zero-related illnesses.

Ten different agencies were represented. The names of the officers were added to the New York State Police Officers Memorial, which was dedicated three years ago on the Empire State Plata in Albany. It now includes the names of 1,668 officers who died in the line of duty.

This year’s ceremony honors 10 New York City Police Department officers who died in the line of duty in 2019 and 2020; 83 officers from the NYPD, Port Authority Police Department, New York State Police, state Department of Environmental Conservation Police, Cayuga County Sheriff’s Office, Harrison Police Department and Suffolk County Police Department who died from illnesses resulting from their work at Ground Zero in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center; and eight officers from the state Attorney General’s Office, CSX Police Department, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, NYPD and PAPD, each of whom died in the line of duty prior to 2019.

Gov. Hochul ordered the following landmarks in NYS to be illuminated blue this evening in honor of their sacrifice:

• One World Trade Center
• Grand Central Terminal – Pershing Square Viaduct
• MTA LIRR – East End Gateway at Penn Station
• The Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge
• The Kosciuszko Bridge
• The Franklin D. Roosevelt Mid-Hudson Bridge
• The H. Carl McCall SUNY Building
• State Education Building
• Alfred E. Smith State Office Building
• Albany International Airport Gateway
• The Lake Placid Olympic Jumping Complex
• The Main Gate and Expo Center at the State Fairgrounds
• Niagara Falls