A Los Angeles police officer died from complications of coronavirus on Friday, the Los Angeles Police Department told 360aproko News.
A department spokesperson declined to provide the officer’s name or title. The COVID-19 death marks the first of a sworn officer in the police force and the second department employee.
Earlier this month, LAPD senior detention officer Erica McAdoo, 39, died from the illness.
As of Thursday, 449 LAPD employees have contracted the virus, including 333 sworn officers. Of those, 270 have returned to work.
The agency has seen a spike in coronavirus cases among its ranks that was partially attributed to interactions between officers and protesters following the death of George Floyd, Police Chief Michel Moore told the Los Angeles Times.
“This was a 21 percent increase and is about twice the rate of our historic rate of change over the history of the pandemic,” he told the civilian Police Commission this week.
