Kenneth Francis Tietjen
Agency patch
Police Officer

Kenneth Francis Tietjen

Illness
End of Watch September 11, 2001
Age 31
Tour of Duty 8 yrs
The Vigil Panel 148 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Police Officer Kenneth Tietjen was killed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks while attempting to rescue the victims trapped in the World Trade Center.

Officer Tietjen was killed when the first tower collapsed after he reentered it to rescue victims.

Officer Tietjen had served with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department for eight years. He received commendations for subduing subjects who had stabbed law enforcement officers in separate incidents.

September 11, 2001

Police Officer Kenneth Francis Tietjen was killed at the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, 2001. He was 31 years old.

He is one of 72 officers honored here, and one of 37 at Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department.

Seventy-two law enforcement officers from eight local, state, and federal agencies were killed at the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, 2001, alongside 343 members of the New York City Fire Department and more than 2,800 civilians. A fourth aircraft went down in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where a law enforcement officer aboard was among the dead.

Officers went into the towers while everyone else was coming out. More than 25,000 people reached safety because they did.

Survivors

He was survived by his parents, two sisters, and fiancee.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-8B9C3276
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 went in while everyone else was coming out.
Police Officer Tietjen gave the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department 8 years.
Thank you for your service to the Jersey City community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Tietjen.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Jersey City, NJ
Platform Identity panynjpd.hudson.nj.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch September 11, 2001
Tour of Duty 8 yrs
Age 31
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Illness
Cause Detail Terrorist attack
Weapon Aircraft; Passenger jet

Police Officer Kenneth Francis Tietjen 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 NJ, 112 of 646 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 17.3% of this state's fallen. That is 17.3 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department, 53 of 60 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 88.3% of this agency's fallen.

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department
53
of 60 officers
88.3% Illness
NJ — Statewide
112
of 646 officers
17.3% Illness
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Illness

National Cause Distribution

How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Kenneth Francis Tietjen's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How Kenneth Francis Tietjen Compares

Age at Death
31
This officer
Avg for Illness: 47.7 years
Years of Service
8
This officer
Avg for Illness: 18.7 years

When Illness Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Kenneth Francis Tietjen is highlighted in Sep.

Jan
294
Feb
198
Mar
186
Apr
226
May
201
Jun
182
Jul
217
Aug
281
Sep
353
Oct
376
Nov
239
Dec
285

Incident Location