New class of Port Authority Police officers receives badges in ceremony at 9/11 Memorial and Museum
NEW YORK -- The new class of Port Authority Police officers received their badges Thursday.
The ceremony was held at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center.
This year's class of 129 recruits include six legacy officers, like Anthony Cortazzo. His father, John, was a K9 officer. He died due to a 9/11-related illness.
Cortazzo now wears his father's badge numbers.
"He was a part of the recovery effort down there, and in 2005, he became sick with myelodysplastic syndrome, and he fought that for three and a half years and then passed away in 2009," he said. "Wearing the same shield number that he wore and being a part of the same department that he was a part of is definitely an honor."
The ceremony also included a wreath-laying at the South Memorial Pool. Thirty-seven carnations were also laid, honoring the 37 PAPD officers who died in the attacks.
