Brittney Roy’s police officer dad was killed in the 9/11 attacks. She followed in his footsteps and became a police officer herself.
Roy was just 7 years old when her father, Sgt. Timothy Roy, died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The hero dad was off duty when he learned of planes crashing into the Twin Towers and rushed to help. He was last seen by the South Tower. Ground zero workers found his body 13 months later.
“The day before St. Patrick’s Day, which was his favorite holiday, he was found,” Roy, who is now 23, said, “We were able to bury his body at that point.”
Brittney Roy graduated from the police academy this Monday during a ceremony at the Madison Square Garden. One five recruits at the ceremony were female.
The rookie female police officer was on patrol with her training sergeant, Justin Dambiskas, of the 133th precinct, when the pair received a call about a man threatening a woman with a gun just past 12:54 p.m. on Thursday.
Roy was sworn into the police academy in April this year along with 473 recruits. She lives in Massapequa Park, Long Island.
Roy always dreamed of joining the force, but only recently made up her mind.
“Since I was very young, growing up in the police department, you really see the true heroes,” Roy said when she was sworn in. “It’s just always been a dream to be one of them. Especially what my dad had done for the nation, the country, it was a true aspiration to be able to try to follow in his footsteps.”
Roy’s dad was assigned to the Surface Transit Enforcement Division.
The NYPD commissioner referred to Roy as a “professional young woman.”
“She’s thrilled to be here, to carry on the legacy of her father. I think that’s great. Her dad was a courageous guy,“ O’Neill said. ”I’m real happy she’s here, she’s going to make a great contribution to the NYPD.”
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