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Who was Sgt William Brautigam? NYPD's 9/11 hero dead after long battle with illness developed on tragic day

NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said in a letter to cops how 47-year-old Sgt William Brautigam had only been in the force for two months when the deadly terror attacks took place

The New York Police Department lost a decorated officer on Sunday, January 31 after a years-long battle with a 9/11 related illness. NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said in a letter to cops how 47-year-old Sgt. William Brautigam had only been in the force for two months when the deadly terror attacks took place, Fox News reported.

"William was a member of the ‘9/11 class’ in our Academy — appointed to the NYPD on July 2nd of that year," Shea wrote. "William, like thousands of his classmates and colleagues throughout the department, answered the call. Now, nearly 20 years after that horrific time in our nation’s history, his strength continues to lead us — and we vow to never forget him or his immense sacrifice."

Shea did not reveal the exact cause of death or the nature of illness Brautigam was suffering. However, he noted how the celebrated officer had made nearly 700 arrests and received more than two dozen department awards in his 20-year career with law enforcement. Brautigam first served as an officer in the 33rd Precinct, before moving onto Patrol Borough Manhattan North and the Vice Enforcement Division, where he earned his detective shield. Brautigam later worked at Narcotics Borough Manhattan North and then went back to the 33rd Precinct as a sergeant. There, he served as a field intelligence officer.

“For the past four years, he was assigned to the Criminal Enterprise Investigative Section. And for more than 2 years of that, he bravely fought the illness that ultimately claimed the life of another NYPD hero,” Shea said. "Our sympathies, prayers, and thanks are with all of William’s relatives and loved ones today, and every day forward," he added.

Last week, the Joe Biden administration faced considerable backlash for giving the Covid-19 vaccine on priority to inmates at Guantanamo Bay, including terrorists such as 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Hero 9/11 vets were particularly upset and slammed the president over the Pentagon’s decision to give vaccines to the terror inmates before most other Americans. According to the New York Post, Thomas Von Essen, former commissioner of the New York City Fire Department, called the move “f**king nuts”.

“You can’t make this up. The ridiculousness of what we get from our government. They will run the vaccine down to those lowlifes at Guantanamo Bay before every resident of the United States of America gets it is the theater of the absurd,” Von Essen, who lost 343 firefighters on the ill-fated September day in 2001, told the Post.

John Feal, a demolition supervisor at the Ground Zero pile in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks who still suffers from illnesses related to the devastating events, was yet to get the vaccine and he was stunned that the terror inmates were set to get it before them. “The fact that the 9/11 community can’t get the vaccine and the terrorists can show how backward our government is. It’s the most ludicrous thing I’ve ever heard. It’s an insult to the people who ran into the towers and were killed and those who worked on the pile for months and are ill,” The Post quoted him as saying.

Brian Sullivan, a retired special agent with the Federal Aviation Administration was also furious and said he was outraged by the decision. “I’m 75. I haven’t gotten my Covid vaccine. They’re going to give it to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed?” he asked with annoyance. The Guantanamo camp has 40 detainees, including KSM who is known as the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.