THE ANGELS – A Los Angeles Police Department officer died Friday of the coronavirus, making him the first sworn officer of the agency to be a victim of COVID-19.
The department confirmed that the officer died Friday morning of “COVID-19 complications.”
In a note sent to LAPD staff obtained by FOX 11, Chief Michael Moore identified the officer as Police Officer II Valentin Martinez, known to his friends as Val, of the LAPD Mission Station. Moore said Martinez had a long and courageous battle with the virus.
According to a statement released by the Los Angeles Police Department, Martinez is survived by his domestic partner, who is 20 weeks pregnant with his twins, his mother, and his siblings.
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Moore authorized LAPD staff to wear the mourning band in honor of Martínez.
The officer is the second LAPD employee to die from the disease. Erica McAdoo, an unsworn senior detention officer, died of the virus on July 3. She was 39 years old.
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