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Fred V. Morrone was the Superintendent of Police and Director of Public Safety at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a federally chartered authority with jurisdiction in two states.  Morrone and 36 of his fellow officers died in the World Trade Towers on September 11, 2001.  Morrone was both the highest ranking public official and police officer to a perish that day.  In addition to the Port Authority officers, 23 New York City Police Officers gave their lives.  All were the inaugural recipients of the International Police 9/11 Medal w/valor (IPM) in 2012.

Fred V. Morrone

Fred Morrone was also our close colleague.  He was the incoming president of the board of the INTERPORTPOLICE - International Organizationciation of Airport and Seaport Police. His innovative ideas at the Authority were before his time and his quest to educate officers on counterterrorism throughout the transportation security theater globally was his vision.  

“Morrone was an innovator, forward thinking, and an advocate to assist countries across the globe

to include third world nations.”

 

The Morrone 9/11 Center is a global living memorial to Superintendent of Police and Director of Public Safety Fred V. Morrone at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. His goals were to bridge countries together around the world in public safety and he strived to provide international cooperation on terrorism and other serious crime.

The Morrone Educational fund was established in his memory, with the consent of his family at the 9/11 Memorial in New York City in 2002. In 2016 Morrone 9/11 Center for Counterterrorism and Security became a qualified U.S. 501c3 research and education organization to further support the efforts of making the world a safer place. Efforts focus on transportation security, public safety, critical infrastructure, and mass event environments.

Remembering Fred Morrone and His Officers

Ferdinand (Fred) V. Morrone, as many would tell you, was a Cop's cop.  Before he ever became Superintendent of the New York Port Authority Police Department, Fred had a law enforcement career that most would envy.  Born in Brooklyn, he started his career with the New Jersey State Police in 1963, and continued his education, receiving his political science degree from Stockton State College in 1974 and a masters in Public Administration from Rider University in 1977.

Before retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel from a 30-year career with the New Jersey State Police in 1993, one of his last cases was part of a federal task force working with the FBI investigating the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Towers.  By 1996, he had taken the job as the Superintendent of Police and Director of Public Safety at Port Authority Police Department, leading 1,300 plus sworn officers and overseeing one the world's most complicated aviation, maritime, transit, bus, bridge and tunnel security forces.

In his 5 years with the Port Authority, he was credited with establishing several innovative programs. Fred had a vision, he understood the importance of training for terrorism long before 9/11; he understood the significance of training new recruits to the highest standards at the Department’s academy and being ready 24/7.  He thought globally, understanding transportation security, how the world was changing and what it meant for intergovernmental collaboration.  To that end he created the International School for Airport and Seaport Security with the vision of brining counterterrorism training to 3rd world countries. He even expanded the role of officers and how they worked operationally introducing the use portable heart defibrillators, establishing bike patrols in the airports, a scuba team, commercial vehicle inspection unit, an airborne services unit (Helicopters) and a motorcycle unit. 

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Fred was working in Jersey City across the river from New York City when the news came in.  A plane had struck tower one of the World Trade Center where Fred’s office was. He immediately got to the Towers to help.  He was the type of leader who would never expect to send any officer into harms way if he himself was not willing to do the same. 

Fred Morrone was the highest-ranking police officer and public official to die in the Towers.  He, along side with his 36 fellow officers perished that day when the towers collapsed.

At the time of his death Fred was the incoming board president of the INTERPORTPOLICE – International Association of Airport and Seaport Police.  Soon after the tragedy and with permission of the family an international educational program was established in his name to assist in training officers from around the world. The program, the Morrone 9/11 International Center for Counterterrorism & Security, will now serve as that vehicle and build on the promise of making for a safer world through strategic planning, education, best practices, and operational guidance to governments and authorities.

 

In 2007 the Superintendent Fred V. Morrone 9/11 Memorial Award was established and presented to Mayor Rudi Giuliani as the inaugural recipient.  The inaugural award was made by Steuben Glass, and what it represents is priceless.  A duplicate resides with the 9/11 Memorial Museum. 

 

One never knows what will come next, but we do know the fight is long from being over and each one of us plays an important role in keeping the world safe.  We continue our efforts learning from the innovations offered by Fred.

We miss our friend Fred Morrone and our colleagues who perished that day.  We must not ever forget them.  They are our heroes in the truest sense of the word and have set a standard for other officers and officials to live by. 

Others continue their work and we are pleased to continue to honor those who are among the best of the best in the world.

Last, but never least in Fred’s life was his family, his wife Linda, and his three children, Fred, Alyssa, and Gregory. 

Fred and his officers never gave a second thought to what they were doing on September 11, 2001.  If Fred were here to speak for himself, he would tell you that he and his officers were just doing their job. 

 

Several programs have been developed over the years since 9/11 and 7/7 and other terrorism and lone actor serious crime incidents to offer the authorities assistance from intelligence and information to counterterrorism programs.

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