County Court Judge Edward McLoughlin told a crowd outside the Dutchess County Family Court building not to forget the New York state court officers who responded to the 9/11 attacks, including three who died.

"Anytime you come into the county courthouse," Judge McLoughlin said during the annual remembrance event," there's a beautiful plaque with their three smiling faces in the lobby."

Court officers usually protect victims, families, jurors, suspects and judges.

But on Sept. 11, about 20 of them were just blocks away and decided to go well beyond their job description.

"A lot of the officers who were stationed in Manhattan at the academy and the Supreme Court buildings did run down to the Trade Center site," NYS Courts Capt. Joe Beck recalled during an interview after the ceremony.

Beck was working in Westchester on the day of the attack before assisting at ground zero in the following days.

Beck later learned three court officers had died: Sgt. Thomas Jurgens, Sgt. Mitchell Wallace and Capt. Harry Thompson.

Beck had not previously met Wallace nor Thompson.

He had known Thompson.

Capt. Thompson, an instructor at the court officers' academy, helped train Beck as a court officer.

"Harry Thompson was one of the most professional instructors we ever had," Beck said. "Knowledgeable. Competent. And again, the type of person you would expect to run into danger."

Beck was touched when the judges his officers protect reminded the crowd on Market Street about Jurgens, Wallace and Thompson.

"So please remember these victims and try not to be overwhelmed with sadness," Judge McLoughlin said, "but honor them with vigilance and determination that this could never happen to anyone else."

Two other officers said they also had stints working with at least one of the three fallen officers.

Beck said he later learned that Wallace and Thompson were passionate about community service.

And now, so is Beck.

"Since then we started doing fundraisers, collections for disaster areas," he said, "and it's something that's stayed with me for the entire 23 years since the event."

The annual remembrance of 9/11 is organized by Judge Tracy MacKenzie.

MacKenzie previously shared with News 12 the story of her uncle Terrence Mulvey.

Mulvey was an NYPD detective who died in 2021 following a long battle with 9/11-related cancer.