Peter Bruncati
Agency patch
Lieutenant

Peter Bruncati

New Jersey State Police — West Trenton, NJ
Illness
End of Watch June 2, 2023
Age 66
Tour of Duty 25 yrs
The Vigil Panel 181 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Lieutenant Peter Bruncati died as a 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.

Lieutenant Bruncati had served with the New Jersey State Police for 25 years.

September 11, 2001 - The Years After

Lieutenant Peter Bruncati was assigned to the search and recovery at the World Trade Center site after September 11, 2001. He was 45 years old that fall.

He died on June 2, 2023 - 21 years and 8 months later - of an illness contracted there. He was 66.

He is one of 599 officers honored here, and one of 10 at New Jersey State Police.

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 son and daughter.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-NJ-E26A14C7
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.

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

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.
Lieutenant Bruncati gave the New Jersey State Police 25 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of New Jersey. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Lieutenant Bruncati.

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

Agency

Location West Trenton, NJ
Platform Identity njsp.nj.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch June 2, 2023
Tour of Duty 25 yrs
Age 66
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Illness
Cause Detail 9/11 related illness
Weapon Aircraft; Passenger jet
Offender 19 suicide attackers

Lieutenant Peter Bruncati 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 New Jersey State Police, 13 of 84 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 15.5% of this agency's fallen.

New Jersey State Police
13
of 84 officers
15.5% Illness
NJ — Statewide
77
of 646 officers
11.9% Illness
Nationwide
2,974
of 32,508 officers
9.1% Illness

National Cause Distribution

How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Peter Bruncati's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How Peter Bruncati Compares

Age at End of Watch
66
This officer
Avg for Illness: 47.8 years
Years of Service
25
This officer
Avg for Illness: 18.9 years

Offender Outcome

19 suicide attackers

When Illness Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Peter Bruncati is highlighted in Jun.

Jan
294
Feb
198
Mar
185
Apr
226
May
201
Jun
181
Jul
217
Aug
281
Sep
291
Oct
376
Nov
239
Dec
285

Incident Location