Roll of Honor
Incident
Sergeant Edward Thompson died from lung cancer that he contracted after inhaling toxic chemicals and materials while working hundreds of hours at Ground Zero, the site of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Sergeant Thompson had served with the New York City Police Department for 17 years and was assigned to the Intelligence Division as the 6th Precinct Field Intelligence Officer.
Sergeant Thompson is survived by his wife and four daughters.
September 11, 2001 - The Years After
Sergeant Edward Doyle Thompson was assigned to the search and recovery at the World Trade Center site after September 11, 2001. He was 33 years old that fall.
He died on March 9, 2008 - 6 years and 5 months later - of an illness contracted there. He was 39.
He is one of 599 officers honored here, and one of 450 at New York City Police Department.
The most recent of these deaths was October 24, 2025.
Officers who worked the search, rescue, and recovery at the World Trade Center site breathed contaminated air for weeks and months afterward. Many developed cancers and respiratory disease, and they have gone on dying of it ever since.
Seventy-two officers were killed on the morning itself. Hundreds more have died in the years that followed. They are honored here together, because the same attack killed them all. With some it simply took longer.
Survivors
Sergeant Thompson is survived by his wife and four daughters.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-D8A380B7- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 tribute.
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Tributes
You walked into it and it took years to finish the job.
Sergeant Thompson gave the New York City Police Department 17 years.
Thank you for your service to the New York community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sergeant Thompson.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Sergeant Edward Doyle Thompson is one of 1 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.
In NY, 655 of 2,147 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 30.5% of this state's fallen. That is 30.5 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
At New York City Police Department, 538 of 1237 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 43.5% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Edward Doyle Thompson's cause is highlighted.
How Edward Doyle Thompson Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Edward Doyle Thompson is highlighted in Mar.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
1,236 officers from New York City Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
