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Double Amputee Marine Veteran Becomes NY Police Officer

Ferreira is believed to be one of the nation’s first double amputees to serve as a fully active police officer, said Suffolk Assistant Commissioner Justin Meyers, a department spokesman.

March 24, 2017
Double Amputee Marine Veteran Becomes NY Police Officer

Matias Ferreira lost his legs to an IED blast in Afghanistan, but it didn't stop him from pursuing his dream of becoming a police officer. (Photo: Screen shot from Newsday video)


In 2011, Lance Cpl. Matias Ferreira led fellow Marines into an Afghani village. They cleared out a compound, and then came the fateful moment — Ferreira, a machine-gunner, jumped from a rooftop to retrieve some supplies.

He didn’t see the 30-pound bomb concealed in the ground.

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His legs were shattered in the blast. Both had to be amputated below the knee.

Ferreira, now a 28-year-old married father who stands on titanium prosthetics, soon fulfills one of his childhood dreams. Friday, he became a Suffolk County (NY) police officer.

Ferreira is believed to be one of the nation’s first double amputees to serve as a fully active police officer, said Suffolk Assistant Commissioner Justin Meyers, a department spokesman.

Police Commissioner Timothy Sini called Ferreira “the quintessential example of what we’re looking for” in a cop.

“This is someone who served our nation, paid a significant sacrifice, and is now able to overcome adversity in a tremendous way,” Sini told Newsday . “He’s done a terrific job as a recruit in the academy, both physically, academically and in his leadership to the other recruits, and he’s going to make a fine officer.”

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