The first uniformed New York Police Department officer to die of the novel coronavirus has been laid to rest in an emotional ceremony on Sunday.
Detective Cedric Dixon’s died on March 28 due to complications related to the novel coronavirus at the age of 48.
He was admitted to North Central Bronx Hospital with flu-like symptoms and later succumbed to the virus. Police sources say he suffered from asthma and diabetes.
The 23-year veteran was assigned to the 32nd Precinct in Harlem.
As of Sunday April 5, 1,843 uniformed NYPD members and 274 civilian members have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to ABC.
Detective Cedric Dixon, 48, became the first uniformed New York Police Department officer who died of coronavirus to be buried on Sunday. He passed away on March 28 due to complications of COVID-19
On Sunday police officers gathered to pay their respects in a dignified ceremony where pallbearers wore face masks as they held up his coffin
On Sunday police officers gathered to pay their respects in a dignified ceremony where pallbearers wore face masks as they held up Dixon’s coffin.
‘Although our beloved Detective Cedric Dixon was laid to rest today solely by his loved ones — our hero is in the hearts of every member of the DEA and his brothers & sisters in blue. We’ll forever be here for Cedric’s family. Thousands will gather after we overcome this pandemic,’ the Detective’s Endowment Association shared on Twitter on Sunday.
The group shared video showing trumpets blaring as pallbearers carry Dixon’s coffin on a quiet street.
‘We are hurting, we are crying, and we continue to fight,’ NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said on Dixon’s passing. ‘We simply have no other choice. It is in our heart, and it is in our soul to sacrifice to serve to fight for you.’
Shea remembered Dixon saying he was ‘known as the person that would do anything to help you’, as per CBS.
‘If you had something broken, he was particularly fond of fixing technology and electronics,’ he said. ‘He is going to be so sorely missed, and it is just a very, very difficult time for the 32nd precinct and for the department as a whole.’
As of Sunday April 5, 1,843 uniformed members and 274 civilian members have tested positive for the coronavirus. The NYPD has reported that up to a sixth of its force, or around 6,500 members called out sick towards the end of last week and the numbers are not expected to improve over the coming days
It’s not clear how or when Dixon contracted the virus.
Dixon was the third NYPD death that week, following the passing of Giacomina Barr-Brown, a civilian administrative aide in the 49th Precinct, and Dennis Dickson, a custodian who worked with the NYPD since 2006.
‘We have lost three members of our family in a little over 48 hours. As I stand here I cannot begin to describe what we are feeling, what the families of these three heroes are feeling,’ Shea said in a press conference.
The NYPD has reported that up to a sixth of its force, or around 6,500 members called out sick towards the end of last week and the numbers are not expected to improve over the coming days.
Things are even worse at the FDNY with the number of those having to stay at home because of the disease even higher.
One in four members of its EMT paramedic team, about 4,000 people, are currently having to stay off work.
Among firefighters as a whole, around 17 percent are off on sick leave.
The combined number of FDNY firefighters and paramedics no longer able to work is around 3,000 according to NBC4.
The absence of key emergency response workers comes at a crucial time for the city as the coronavirus has led to an all-time high in the sheer number of 911 calls coming in with new records being set almost every day over the last week.
To put in some perspective, a ‘busy day’ would normally consist of around 4,000 calls, however last Monday the FDNY had to deal with more than 6,500.
‘It’s a stressful job at the best of times,’ the police commissioner, Dermot F. Shea last week. ‘Right now, I don’t think you can imagine a worse point of time.’
Officers are falling sick in areas that endure some of the highest crime rates including the Bronx, Washington Heights and Harlem.
Some precincts reported up to a third of their members were unable to report for duty, according to the New York Times, and there are no guidelines that dictate exactly what should be done.