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A 21-year-old NYPD veteran has died after a battle with COVID-19, officials said on Sunday.
“The NYPD family mourns today as we announce the passing of Officer Leonardo Chavez, whose battle with #COVID ended yesterday,” Police Commissioner Dermott Shea said. said on his Twitter account.
“Leonardo, his family and colleagues are forever in our prayers. His 21 years of service and dedication to the people of New York will never be forgotten.”
Chavez, 50, joined the department in 2000 and has spent his entire career working in the department’s transportation office, police sources said. He has been assigned to the Special Operations District office since 2016.
He would be the 61st member of the department to die of the disease.
Police officer Sony Clerge, who was assigned to the Transit Borough Manhattan task force, also died of the virus last month. He was a 19 year old NYPD veteran.
The majority of NYPD coronavirus deaths were civilian employees of the department.
The department struggled to exceed a 50 percent vaccination rate, even though officers were one of the first groups allowed to get vaccinated earlier this year.
Last month, the vaccination rate was around 47% for its roughly 35,000 uniformed officers and nearly 18,000 civilian members, according to the NYPD.
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