First LAPD officer dies of COVID-19

The Los Angeles Police Department lost its first employee to COVID-19, department officials announced on Saturday.

Senior Detention Officer Erica McAdoo died from complications of the disease on Friday night, according to a tweet from the department’s official account. Another 287 LAPD employees are currently quarantined at home after having been exposed to the novel coronavirus, according to the tweet.

A department spokesman declined to say how old McAdoo was or whether she had any of the underlying health conditions that are usually present in cases that turn fatal.

COVID-19 cases among department employees spiked dramatically in late June, leading Chief Michel Moore to attribute at least some of the increase at the time to the “challenging conditions” officers faced during protests sparked by the death of George Floyd.

Interviewed by The Times, some protesters who were arrested and spent prolonged periods interacting with police complained that many officers were not wearing masks. Moore said officers were instructed to wear masks whenever possible while on duty at the protests.

The LAPD’s first COVID-19 death arrived on a somber holiday weekend, with restaurants, bars and beaches closed again because of the alarming spread of the disease in Los Angeles County, where more than 107,660 cases have been confirmed and more than 3,450 people have died.

The tweet about McAdoo said she is “survived by her loving family. Please keep them in your prayers.”