Roll of Honor
Incident
Deputy Chief Steven Bonano died from blood cancer he contracted after inhaling toxic materials as he participated in the rescue and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center site following the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001.
Chief Bonano, who was assigned as the commander of the Emergency Service Unit during the months after 9/11, responded to the World Trade Center following the attack and worked at the scene for several months.
Chief Bonano was a United States Navy veteran and served with the New York City Police Department for 30 years. During his time with the New York City Police Department, Chief Bonano was awarded the Police Combat Cross, the department's second-highest medal, and earned his pilot's license and a Master's degree from Harvard University.
September 11, 2001 - The Years After
Deputy Chief Steven Joseph Bonano was assigned to the search and recovery at the World Trade Center site after September 11, 2001. He was 40 years old that fall.
He died on January 17, 2015 - 13 years and 4 months later - of an illness contracted there. He was 53.
He is one of 599 officers honored here, and one of 450 at New York City 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 is survived by his fiancee.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-88FD9F83- 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.
Deputy Chief Bonano gave the New York City Police Department 30 years.
Thank you for your service to the New York community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Chief Bonano.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Steven Joseph Bonano served in the the United States military before joining law enforcement.
Deputy Chief Steven Joseph Bonano 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 City Police Department, 521 of 1237 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 42.1% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Steven Joseph Bonano's cause is highlighted.
How Steven Joseph Bonano Compares
Offender Outcome
19 suicide attackers
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Steven Joseph Bonano is highlighted in Jan.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
1,236 officers from New York City Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
