Roll of Honor
Incident
Location: New York Incident Date: Tuesday, September 11, 2001 Weapon: Aircraft; Passenger jet Offender: 19 suicide attackers
Sergeant Mike Kurinzi 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.
Sergeant Kurinzi was a United States Marine Corps veteran and had served with the Elizabeth Police Department for 20 years.
September 11, 2001 - The Years After
Sergeant Michael "Zini" Kurinzi was assigned to the search and recovery at the World Trade Center site after September 11, 2001. He was 29 years old that fall.
He died on January 27, 2024 - 22 years and 4 months later - of an illness contracted there. He was 51.
He is one of 599 officers honored here.
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
He is survived by his wife, son, and daughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NJ-30E9FDB1- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
You walked into it and it took years to finish the job.
Sergeant Kurinzi gave the Elizabeth Police Department 20 years.
Thank you for your service to the Elizabeth community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sergeant Kurinzi.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Michael "Zini" Kurinzi served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Sergeant Michael "Zini" Kurinzi is one of 2,974 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 9.1% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In NJ, 77 of 646 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 11.9% of this state's fallen. That is 2.8 percentage points above the national rate of 9.1%.
At Elizabeth Police Department, 2 of 10 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 20% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Michael "Zini" Kurinzi's cause is highlighted.
How Michael "Zini" Kurinzi Compares
Offender Outcome
19 suicide attackers
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Michael "Zini" Kurinzi is highlighted in Jan.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
9 officers from Elizabeth Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
