Veteran NYPD officer dies of COVID

A veteran NYPD officer has died of COVID-19, the latest member of the city police department to succumb to the coronavirus.

Officer Leonardo Chavez, 50, died Saturday, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea announced Sunday.

Chavez, a 21-year NYPD veteran of the NYPD Transit Bureau, was assigned to the bureau’s special operations division in 2016.

“We vow to always keep Leonardo and his loved ones and colleagues in our prayers,” Shea said in a message sent to members of the NYPD. “His dedication to our department and the people of New York City will never be forgotten.”

Last month, Officer Sony Clerge, a 19-year veteran of the Transit Borough Manhattan Task Force, became the 60th member of the NYPD to die of COVID.

NYPD personnel who have died of COVID include police officers and detectives, civilian employees, auxiliary volunteers, school and traffic safety officers and crossing guards.

Earlier this month, the NYPD mandated its cops to get vaccinated, or get tested weekly and provide proof of a negative test every day they show up for work.