(NewsNation) — A former New York City police detective who says she worked at Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks is now fighting cancer and struggling to prove her service at the site to secure her pension benefits.
Detective Sara Salerno, speaking exclusively to NewsNation, revealed she is battling triple-negative breast cancer that has affected her lymph nodes.
She still vividly recalls working at Ground Zero more than two decades ago.
“The smell, I can’t explain it,” said Salerno. “The smell that was in the air. We were all going, ‘That’s death.’”
Salerno says she’s been denied her 3/4 disability retirement pension by the NYPD Pension Fund Board of Trustees, which claims there isn’t enough evidence of her service during the critical days following 9/11.
“I’ve been doing this for what, 14 years, proving my existence,” Salerno said, describing her efforts to validate her presence at Ground Zero. She has submitted photographs she took at the site, along with corroborating accounts from colleagues and supervisors.
Salerno was originally found to have vocal cord problems linked to World Trade Center exposure, which qualified her as disabled.
She has filed multiple legal challenges, with courts consistently ruling she hasn’t met the burden of proof for the statutory minimum presence at the site.
“Why do I have to go and prove something that we all know happened? We were there, and we’re all getting sick. Diagnoses are coming,” said Salerno. “What’s going to happen in the next 10 years and all of these other people will start developing other things? What’s going to happen to them, my fellow brothers and sisters? That’s what bothers me.”
Salerno is not alone in her struggle. A lawyer for Officer Kim DiMartini tells NewsNation she’s been denied benefits despite submitting photos, negatives, and even a helmet signed by former President Bill Clinton as proof of her service.
DiMartini was found disabled by the NYPD Pension Fund with PTSD. Her evidence also includes overtime slips, witness affidavits, and a WTC exposure report.
Despite this documentation, DiMartini’s application was denied. Her appeal to the Appellate Division is currently scheduled for the court’s November term.
“What is it going to take for them to wake up and see that we were there and the proof is there?” Salerno questioned.
The NYPD’s apparent loss of its own roll call records from that period has complicated efforts by officers to prove their presence. “The documents that show where people were have disappeared,” Salerno explained.
Timothy McEnaney of Goldberg & McEnaney represents both Salerno and DeMartini. He said he believes there are easily “hundreds” of NYPD members in the same situation.
“They all thought the NYPD was keeping those rescue and recovery attendance records, but in fact, the NYPD often kept no records, or, if they did, lost them or allowed them to be destroyed,” said McEnaney. “And now this failure is being used by the NYPD against those members in order to save the city money at their expense.”
The denial of benefits has significant financial implications for Salerno, who has had to mortgage her house twice to cover expenses. “Cancer is very expensive,” she said.
Salerno expressed frustration and sadness over the situation, particularly concerning the future of her two children. “I don’t want to leave them with my burdens,” she said.
Despite her struggles, Salerno maintains her commitment to service. “There are so many cops that would just drop everything and do it all over again. And I would do it in a heartbeat,” she said.
“It’s reprehensible to treat people this way, who have willingly put their lives on the line to save 9/11 victims and help the families of those heroes find closure after such grievous losses,” said McEnaney.
NewsNation reached out to the NYPD and the head of the medical division for the NYPD police pension fund Board of Trustees for comment but had not received a response at the time of reporting.
