Douglas Greenwood, a 9/11 first responder who worked on the Ground Zero "pile" forty days in a row following September 11, 2001, took his own life on December 13, 2017.
Greenwood was a NYPD commanding officer who developed lung disease following his time working to locate remains on the Ground Zero "pile". He retired in 2003 on 9/11 disability once he could no longer continue to serve on the force after developing lung damage. Greenwood served on the NYPD for 26 years and would have continued on had he not developed his lung illness. Since then he had been co-owner of a Greenwich Village pizzeria - Bleecker Street Pizza that featured authentic fare true to his Italian grandmother's recipes. He was very proud of his pizzeria and it brought him joy to hear his customers rave about the food.
According to the New York Post article "his 9/11 lung illness became too painful to bear, and on Tuesday night, retired Capt. Douglas Greenwood shot himself to death at a park near his Suffolk County home."
