Roll of Honor
Thomas Patrick Compitello
Incident
Chief of Patrol Thomas Compitello 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.
Chief Compitello was a United States Army veteran who had served with the Suffolk County Police Department for 44 years and previously served with the Amityville Police Department for three years.
September 11, 2001 - The Years After
Chief of Patrol Thomas Patrick Compitello was assigned to the search and recovery at the World Trade Center site after September 11, 2001. He was 66 years old that fall.
He died on December 16, 2022 - 21 years and 3 months later - of an illness contracted there. He was 87.
He is one of 599 officers honored here, and one of 6 at Suffolk County 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 was survived by his wife, three children, and seven grandchildren.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-D28EB9CE- 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.
Chief of Patrol Compitello gave the Suffolk County Police Department 47 years.
Thank you for your service to the Yaphank community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Chief of Patrol Compitello.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Thomas Patrick Compitello served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Chief of Patrol Thomas Patrick Compitello 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 Suffolk County Police Department, 7 of 27 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 25.9% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Thomas Patrick Compitello's cause is highlighted.
How Thomas Patrick Compitello Compares
Offender Outcome
19 suicide attackers
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Thomas Patrick Compitello is highlighted in Dec.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
26 officers from Suffolk County Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
