NYPD officers wearing black bands on badges to honor COVID-19 dead
NYPD officers are wearing black bands on their police badges to remember those who have died within the department due to COVID-19.
NEW YORK - To date, 27 members of the New York City Police Department have died from COVID-19. In their honor, members of the force are wearing black bands on their police shields.
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea is among them.
"New Yorkers may begin to see our officers with black mourning bands across their shields—and across their hearts," said Shea. "We wear these in quiet commemoration of our 27 brothers and sisters we’ve lost to #COVID. Another way we honor our vow to #NeverForget."
The first uniformed NYPD officer to die of coronavirus was Detective Cedric Dixon, 48. The 23-year veteran of the NYPD was assigned to the 32nd Precinct in northeast Harlem. He died at a Bronx hospital on March 25.
Among the most recent to pass was Carol Ryer- a Traffic Enforcement Agent with Bronx Traffic Enforcement. She had been a member of the NYPD since 1992.
And, Detective Robert Cardona who was part of the 13th Precinct Detective Squad in Manhattan. He had been a member of the NYPD since 2001.