NYPD lays to rest one of its 9/11 heroes; PBA head Lynch says we must help first responders
NYPD lays to rest one of its 9/11 heroes; PBA head Lynch says we must help first responders
By Phil Corso and Corky Siemaszko
Daily News Writers
Farriella for NewsCops carry the casket of fellow officer David Mahmound into St Francis De Sales
Church in Patchogue, Long Island Tuesday. He died from a vicious form of cancer after helping at Ground Zero.
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The sacrifice of a cancer-stricken city cop laid to rest Tuesday was held aloft by union leaders in the
push to aid ill Ground Zero responders.
"Some think that taking care of those who take care of us is an entitlement," Patrolmen's Benevolent
Association President Patrick Lynch said, standing on the church lawn.
"The police officer we buried today, his family, and those police officers that are sick and will become
sick are entitled," he said. "This is not about economics, this is about right and wrong."
Lynch spoke as the hearse carrying the casket of NYPD Officer David Mahmoud, 49, left the St. Francis De Sales in Patchogue for the cemetery.
"He died from a rare cancer that literally ate his face," Lynch said, flanked by other officers. "The
young man that joined this police department withered away and died because he was willing to
put his life on the line and respond on Sept. 11 - and not leave until our job was done."
Lynch was supposed to be in Washington with other members of the New York delegation to press for passage of a bill that would help the families of injured Ground Zero heroes like Mahmoud.
Instead, he joined the throng mourning Mahmoud, a father of three daughters who lived in Medford and
served on the police force for 15 years.
Mahmoud died after contracting a rare cancer of the nasal passages that required disfiguring surgery to remove his nose.
"It is very difficult for us," his brother, Hashem, said. "But David isn't the only one. There are others like him and they should be looked up to."
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