NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Lou Alvarez, the retired NYPD detective with advanced liver cancer who went to Washington this month with Jon Stewart to push for the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, has died at 53.
Alvarez stunned the nation with his testimony to lawmakers in early June.
"I have been to many places in this world and done many things, but I can tell you that I did not want to be anywhere else but Ground Zero when I was there," he testified to a House committee. "Now the 9/11 illnesses have taken many of us, and we are all worried about our children, our spouses and our families and what happens if we are not here."
"You made me come because I will not stand by and watch as my friends with cancer from 9/11, like me, are valued less than anyone else. Because when they get sick, they die," he said.
A day after he testified, his liver shut down and doctors said there was nothing more they could do for him.
His family said he died at peace Saturday.
"Please remember his words, 'Please take care of yourselves and each other.' We told him at the end that he had won this battle by the many lives he had touched by sharing his three year battle. He was at peace with that, surrounded by family," his family said in a statement.
Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said he was an inspiration, a warrior and a friend.
"He exemplified the NYPD motto, 'Fidelis Ad Mortem' or 'Faithful Unto Death.' Detective Lou Alvarez has lost his battle with 9/11-related cancer. An inspiration, a warrior, a friend—we will carry his sword," he said.
NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill tweeted that "his strength — physical, mental & emotional — led us all." "We vow to #NeverForget him or his legacy — which was, simply, to have others do what's right."
Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted that Alvarez "showed us what courage looks like as he fought fearlessly for the lives of his brothers and sisters who answered the call in our city's darkest hour."
"This entire city mourns his loss. His fight is ours to finish," the mayor said.
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