Boulder County, Colo. - On September 11th, we remember and honor the lives of all those lost on 9/11. Thousands of innocent lives were taken in the terror attacks, including hundreds of first responders. Firefighters and police officers ran towards the danger as many tried to escape. Of the 2,977 victims killed in the September 11th attacks, 412 were emergency workers in New York City who responded to the World Trade Center including firefighters, police officers and paramedics.

The staff of the District Attorney’s Office will never forget the loss of all the victims. As an office, every year, our office honors the memory of nearly three thousand lives lost in New York, Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon. It is difficult to believe that 25 years have passed since the attacks on our country. We have staff in our office that were not alive at the time. So, our office joins in lifting up the memory of the victims and remembering how the attacks impacted this country and the lives of countless people.

At the time, DA Michael Dougherty was a prosecutor at the Manhattan DA’s Office in downtown Manhattan, about to start a trial involving a violent robbery of an elderly couple. DA Dougherty later prosecuted and tried a man who falsely claimed to have found survivors during the rescue effort at the World Trade Center, thereby causing firefighters to risk their lives looking for the survivors in the depths of the rubble. That man was convicted at trial and went to state prison.

DA Michael Dougherty stated, “It’s hard to believe that it has been 25 years. On 9/11, we honor and remember the lives of all those lost as well as the incredible courage and sacrifice of first responders. We also mourn the first responders who have since succumbed to illnesses developed as the result of their dedicated efforts at Ground Zero in the days and months following the attacks. Each one of us carries such powerful memories from that day.”