End of Watch, Army Veteran, Investigator Ryan Fortini
Investigator Ryan D. Fortini
New York State Police, New York
End of Watch Wednesday, January 1, 2020
Investigator Ryan Fortini died as the result of cancer that he developed following his assignment to the search and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center site following the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks. ODMP Officer Memorial Page
Investigator Fortini was a U.S. Army veteran and had served with the New York State Police for 16 years and medically retired in 2015. He is survived by his fiancee, parents, brother, and sister.
On the morning of September 11th, 2001, seventy-two officers from a total of eight local, state, and federal agencies were killed when terrorist hijackers working for the al Qaeda terrorist network, headed by Osama bin Laden, crashed four hijacked planes into the World Trade Center towers in New York City, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
After the impact of the first plane into the World Trade Center’s North Tower, putting the safety of others before their own, law enforcement officers along with fire and EMS personnel, rushed to the burning Twin Towers of the World Trade Center to aid the victims and lead them to safety. Due to their quick actions, it is estimated that over 25,000 people were saved.
As the evacuation continued, the South Tower unexpectedly collapsed as a result of the intense fire caused by the impact. The North Tower collapsed a short time later. Seventy-one law enforcement officers, 343 members of the New York City Fire Department were killed.
On September 9th, 2005, all of the public safety officers killed on September 11th, 2001, were posthumously awarded the 9/11 Heroes Medal of Valor by President George W. Bush.
The contamination in the air at the World Trade Center site caused many rescue personnel to become extremely ill and eventually led to the death of several rescue workers. Investigator Ryan D. Fortini FOR MORE VISIT ODMP