A Los Angeles police officer died of the coronavirus early Friday morning, the first sworn officer in the city to succumb to the deadly pandemic, police authorities told the Times.
The officer had been ill for at least a week, according to a flyer from a fundraiser to help him with his medical bills. The Times is not immediately identifying the officer because notifications have yet been made across the department.
An LAPD spokesperson confirmed the death of an officer, but not his identity.
The officer who died Friday is the second LAPD employee to die from the virus. Earlier this month, senior detention officer Erica McAdoo died of complications from COVID-19.
A total of 437 LAPD employees had contracted the virus as of July 22, authorities said; 254 of those employees are quarantined due to the exposure, according to a press release.
The number of COVID-19 cases among the LAPD ranks increased in July, an increase Chief Michel Moore partially attributed to the conditions officers faced during a wave of protests that followed the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
