The husband of the only female NYPD officer to die in the 9/11 terrorist attacks says he is disgusted with politicians who want photos ops on the attack anniversary but ignore cops every other day.
Officer Moira Smith, 38, died in collapse of the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Right up until her death, she was trying to help those who worked in the office building to get out alive.
James Smith, 60, said there would be “anti-police” politicians clamoring for photos on the 20th anniversary of the tragedy Saturday “with their arms around heroes and trying to bask in the reflected glory of what my wife and other officers did.”
But it’s all an act, he said.
“By September 12, they’ll be back to defunding the police. I’ve no intention of being anywhere near it,” he told the U.S. Sun.
“We made a promise to never forget and we’ve clearly forgotten, with the way police officers are treated today in this country, both by the public and the politicians,” said Smith, who worked with his wife in the NYPD’s 13th Precinct. “It’s disgusting. It didn’t take long to forget.”
“We were the first ones to run into the buildings to save people. Moira lost her life to make sure that other people got a chance to go home to their families, even though she didn’t get home to hers,” he said.
“They forgot the lessons of 9/11: there are people willing to give their lives to help you,” Smith said. “It’s sad state of affairs.”
We Will #NeverForget – NYPD Officer Moira Smith, 38, led countless injured people from the WTC. After this photo was taken, she went inside to help as many people as she could. The only female NYPD Officer to die on September 11, she left behind a husband & a 2-year-old daughter. pic.twitter.com/2fqzwpWXwX
— National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) (@GLFOP) September 10, 2021
Moira Smith became immortalized in a photo that showed her rescuing Ed Nicholls, an investment banker visiting the North Tower on Sept. 11. 2001.
Nicholls said he is not one who forgets her, according to WPIX-TV in New York.
“She grabbed ahold of me and was helping me over to this area, to just sit down on the sidewalk and wait for an ambulance,” Nicholls said.
Trade Center survivor Martin Glynn also recalled meeting Smith.
“She was barking out instructions. ‘Don’t look! Don’t look! Keep moving, don’t use your cellphone. Keep moving!’” he told WPIX.
When he tried to look at what was going on outside, she blocked him.
P.O. Moira Smith @NYPD13Pct
EOW: 9/11/01
The only female cop killed in the rescue effort. Married to a police officer and the mother of a two-year old daughter, she was honored by NY Waterway, which named a ferry after her.#Rememberthe23#NeverForget #FidelisAdMortem pic.twitter.com/iFJrQfk4Sa
— NYC PBA (@NYCPBA) September 11, 2021
“In that moment we had a second of direct and intense eye contact,” he said.
“In that moment we had a second of direct and intense eye contact,” said Martin Glynn of Officer Smith as she ushered him to safety.
“I got about 5 minutes away when the building went down…I thought of her right away.”#NeverForget Officer Moira Smith. https://t.co/dewxkg1tqu
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) September 7, 2021
And then she was gone.
“I got about five minutes away when the building went down. I turned around just to see the building go down. I thought of her right away,” he said.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.