‘We Will Never Forget': NYPD Honors 13 Members Who Died Last Year

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) – Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton presided over a somber memorial service Friday to honor 13 members of the NYPD who died in 2013.

As WCBS 880’s Marla Diamond reported, 12 more names were added to the 9/11 memorial wall at 1 Police Plaza, making the number of officers dead from 9/11-related illness greater than the number of officers killed in the terror attacks.

Their names were engraved on plaques and installed on a memorial wall in the entrance of police headquarters. Dozens of family members attended the event, and 13 floral wreaths lined a wall.

De Blasio and Bratton thanked the officers’ families for their sacrifices.

“We will never forget, and effectively they have gained a second family,” said the police commissioner. “They went forward toward that danger. And today, we celebrate you for constantly and always being there to celebrate them.”

A traffic enforcement agent who was struck and killed by a truck in November was also honored.

De Blasio said police officers embody “that miracle that is New York.”

Commissioner William Bratton told relatives of those memorialized that the department will always be their second family.

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