Roll of Honor
Incident
Captain Rick Tesauro 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.
Captain Tesauro had served with the New Jersey State Police for 26 years, assigned to Troop A.
September 11, 2001 - The Years After
Captain Richard E. Tesauro was assigned to the search and recovery at the World Trade Center site after September 11, 2001. He was 44 years old that fall.
He died on October 12, 2019 - 18 years and 1 month later - of an illness contracted there. He was 62.
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 is survived by his wife, three daughters, his brother, and his sister.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NJ-FB3239EF- 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.
Captain Tesauro gave the New Jersey State Police 27 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of New Jersey. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Captain Tesauro.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Captain Richard E. Tesauro 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.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Richard E. Tesauro's cause is highlighted.
How Richard E. Tesauro Compares
Offender Outcome
19 suicide attackers
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Richard E. Tesauro is highlighted in Oct.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
83 officers from New Jersey State Police are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
