Hero 9/11 1st Responder Luis Alvarez Dies After Benefit Plea

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What to Know

  • Retired NYPD Detective Luis Alvarez, an icon in the fight for 9/11 first responder benefits, has died[hhmc]

  • The day after he gave emotional testimony on Capitol Hill, Alvarezs liver shut down and doctors told him there was nothing they could do[hhmc]

  • Alvarez kept speaking out with one final plea: Permanently extend the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund Bill for fellow first responders[hhmc]

Luis Alvarez, the NYPD detective who used his final days to plead with Congress for more benefits for 9/11 first responders, has died, his family said Saturday.

"It is with peace and comfort, that the Alvarez family announce that Luis (Lou) Alvarez, our warrior, has gone home to our Good Lord in heaven today. Please remember his words, 'Please take care of yourselves and each other.' We told him at the end that he had won this battle by the many lives he had touched by sharing his three year battle. He was at peace with that, surrounded by family. Thank you for giving us this time we have had with him, it was a blessing!" his family said in a statement.

Alvarez, a former NYPD detective who saved people from the rubble on 9/11, was suffering from colon cancer in hospice care, but continued to speak out with one final plea: Permenently extend the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund Bill, so his fellow first responders could get the health coverage they need.

Alvarez went down to Capitol Hill, along with Jon Stewart and other 9/11 survivors and first responders, earlier this month to demand Congress extend the funding. He gave emotional testimony that riveted the nation and Capitol Hill, one day before his 69th round of chemotherapy, he said.

The day after he gave that emotional testimony, Alvarezs liver shut down and doctors told him there was nothing more they could do to treat the cancer he got 16 years after saving anyone he could from the heaping piles death and destruction.

Earlier this week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promised a vote on a bill to extend the benefits — after a group of Alvarez's colleagues went to McConnell's office and presented him with the dying detective's badge.

"He exemplified the NYPD motto, 'Fidelis Ad Mortem' or 'Faithful Unto Death.' Detective Lou Alvarez has lost his battle with 9/11-related cancer. An inspiration, a warrior, a friend—we will carry his sword," Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea tweeted Saturday morning.

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW BELOW:

Hero 9/11 First Responder Luis Alvarez Makes Plea From HospiceHero 9/11 First Responder Luis Alvarez Makes Plea From Hospice

“On 9/11 when we went in, we didn't ask the person lying on the ground whether they were Democrat or Republican or any affiliation,” said Alvarez. “We tried to save lives, and that&#039Read More – Source

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