Roll of Honor

Prev Next

Chief of Patrol

Thomas Patrick Compitello

Suffolk County Police Department — Yaphank, NY

Veteran → Illness

End of Watch December 16, 2022

Age 87

Tour of Duty 47 yrs

The Vigil Panel 180 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Military Department 26

Incident

Chief of Patrol Thomas Compitello 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.

Chief Compitello was a United States Army veteran who had served with the Suffolk County Police Department for 44 years and previously served with the Amityville Police Department for three years.

September 11, 2001 - The Years After

Chief of Patrol Thomas Patrick Compitello was assigned to the search and recovery at the World Trade Center site after September 11, 2001. He was 66 years old that fall.

He died on December 16, 2022 - 21 years and 3 months later - of an illness contracted there. He was 87.

He is one of 599 officers honored here, and one of 6 at Suffolk County 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

He was survived by his wife, three children, and seven grandchildren.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-NY-D28EB9CE
Stewardship: Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw: August 2, 2026
Last updated: August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

Are you family? This record can be claimed and maintained by those who knew Thomas. Claim this record.

Also honored at salute.nw — U.S. Army. One record, 2 gates. Thomas is one person.

This page is permanent and free. No fee to view it, no advertising, no tracking, and no account required. It will not be taken down.

Tributes

You walked into it and it took years to finish the job.
Chief of Patrol Compitello gave the Suffolk County Police Department 47 years.
Thank you for your service to the Yaphank community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Chief of Patrol Compitello.

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

Agency

Department Suffolk County Police Department

Type Police Department

Location Yaphank, Suffolk County, NY

Platform Identity scpd.suffolk.ny.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch December 16, 2022

Tour of Duty 47 yrs

Age 87

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Illness

Weapon Aircraft; Passenger jet

Military Service

Thomas Patrick Compitello served in the U.S. Army before joining law enforcement.

View full service record on salute.nw →

Chief of Patrol Thomas Patrick Compitello is one of 1 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,759 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 Suffolk County Police Department, 7 of 27 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 25.9% of this agency's fallen.

Suffolk County Police Department

of 27 officers

25.9% Illness

NY — Statewide

655

of 2,147 officers

30.5% Illness

Nationwide

of 97,759 officers

0% Illness