Roll of Honor
Diane DiGiacomo
Incident
Special Investigator Diane DiGiacomo died as the result of cancer that developed following prolonged exposure to toxic materials while conducting search and rescue operations after the terrorist attacks in New York City on September 11th, 2001.
Investigator DiGiacomo and other agents from the ASPCA's Humane Law Enforcement division were assigned to search for abandoned animals in homes and apartments in restricted area around the World Trade Center site that had been evacuated. Investigator DiGiacomo spent three months in the immediate area around Ground Zero participating in the operation and other recovery tasks.
She developed a cancer that was directly attributed to her exposure to the toxic air in the area.
Special Investigator DiGiacomo was one of the officers regularly profiled on the reality television show "Animal Precinct." She is survived by her son, two sisters, and brother.
September 11, 2001 - The Years After
Special Investigator Diane DiGiacomo was assigned to the search and recovery at the World Trade Center site after September 11, 2001. He was 38 years old that fall.
He died on November 20, 2015 - 14 years and 2 months later - of an illness contracted there. He was 52.
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
She is survived by her son, two sisters, and brother.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-21C25F64- 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.
Special Investigator DiGiacomo gave the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Humane Law Enforcement 17 years.
Thank you for your service to the New York community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Special Investigator DiGiacomo.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Special Investigator Diane DiGiacomo 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 NY, 629 of 2,147 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 29.3% of this state's fallen. That is 20.2 percentage points above the national rate of 9.1%.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Diane DiGiacomo's cause is highlighted.
How Diane DiGiacomo Compares
Offender Outcome
19 suicide attackers
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Diane DiGiacomo is highlighted in Nov.