Gov. Dannel Malloy has ordered flags lowered to half-staff in honor of a Connecticut State Police trooper who passed away Thursday.
Trooper First Class Walter Greene passed away following a battle with cancer as a result of his response in New York City in the aftermath of the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001.
State police confirmed Greene's cancer was related to his response on 9/11, and his passing is considered a line of duty death. Greene escorted family members two and from Ground Zero.
Greene was a member of the 101st Training Trooper and most recently assigned to Traffic Services Unit. He served in the US Marine Corps for four years before joining Connecticut State Police in 1990. Over the years he was assigned to Troops A and G, the Statewide Cooperative Crime Control Task Force, and was a master instructor for motor services and a K-9 handler.
State police said he was an "avid supporter of the Special Olympics and actively participated in the Law Enforcement Torch Run."
"We are all grateful to have known and worked with a man of such remarkable character and dedication. TFC. Greene will always be remembered as a man who maintained a true and unwavering commitment to help others at any cost," Connecticut State Police said in a statement.
“Men like Trooper First Class Greene personify what it means to give back to the community and to dedicate one’s life work in the name of others. His bravery and integrity speaks volumes. On behalf of the entire State of Connecticut, I send my deepest condolences to his family, friends, and State Police colleagues. I ask the people of Connecticut to please keep Trooper First Class Greene and his family in your prayers,” Malloy wrote in a statement.
