Christopher J. Garrow
Agency patch
Captain

Christopher J. Garrow

New York State Police — Albany, NY
Illness Veteran →
End of Watch June 12, 2023
Age 47
Tour of Duty 23 yrs
The Vigil Panel 181 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Captain Chris Garrow 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 Garrow was a United States Marine Corps veteran and served with the New York State Police for 23 years.

September 11, 2001 - The Years After

Captain Christopher J. Garrow was assigned to the search and recovery at the World Trade Center site after September 11, 2001. He was 26 years old that fall.

He died on June 12, 2023 - 21 years and 9 months later - of an illness contracted there. He was 47.

He is one of 599 officers honored here, and one of 38 at New York 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, two daughters, father, mother, and brother.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-4857A5CA
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 Garrow gave the New York State Police 23 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of New York. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Captain Garrow.

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

Agency

Location Albany, NY
Platform Identity nysp.ny.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch June 12, 2023
Tour of Duty 23 yrs
Age 47
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Illness
Weapon Aircraft; Passenger jet
Offender 19 suicide attackers

Military Service

Christopher J. Garrow served in the Marine Corps (1994–1999) before joining law enforcement.

View full service record on salute.nw →

Captain Christopher J. Garrow 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%.

At New York State Police, 41 of 171 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 24% of this agency's fallen.

New York State Police
41
of 171 officers
24% Illness
NY — Statewide
629
of 2,147 officers
29.3% 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. Christopher J. Garrow'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 Christopher J. Garrow Compares

Age at End of Watch
47
This officer
Avg for Illness: 47.8 years
Years of Service
23
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. Christopher J. Garrow 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