N.Y. Police Sergeant at Ground Zero on 9/11 Dies of Related Illness

Nov. 3, 2022

Retired New York State Police Sgt. Ivan Morales was still in the police academy with the NYPD when he helped with rescue and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center following the attacks.

By Brendan Rascius

Source The Charlotte Observer

A retired police sergeant died from an illness resulting from his rescue efforts at ground zero on Sept. 11, 2001, the New York State Police said in a news release.

Ivan Morales, 42, joined the New York City Police Department in 2001 and, while he was still at the police academy, assisted in rescue and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center following the terrorist attacks, according to his obituary.

Morales later joined the New York State Police in 2005, serving on the force for 17 years and retiring as a sergeant, according to the release.

“Ivan loved nothing more than being a dad and watching the New York Yankees,” stated his obituary.

Almost 10,000 first responders to 9/11 have been diagnosed with cancer and “[m]ore than 2,000 deaths have been attributed to 9/11 illnesses” as of 2018, according to the Poughkeepsie Journal.

“No one has ever codified or captured all the stuff that was released from that pile [at ground zero],” Dr. Michael Crane, medical director of the World Trade Center Health Program Clinical Center of Excellence at Mount Sinai, told the outlet. “It’s an unknown exposure.”

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