Ardrey Kell High School SRO, 28-year CMPD veteran dies from COVID
CHARLOTTE NC October 8 2021— The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, as well as a local high school community, are mourning the death of a veteran officer who has died.
CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings tweeted Tuesday morning that Officer Julio Herrera had died. Herrera, who had been with the department for 28 years, was the school resource officer at Ardrey Kell High School.
“It’s with a heavy heart that I share with our CLT family of Ofc. Julio Herrera’s passing,” the chief wrote. “He has spent the last 28 years serving the CLT community.”
Jennings said Herrera leaves behind a wife and two children.
“He’ll also be missed by the many students he mentored at Ardrey Kell High School,” Jennings posted.
Herrera was set to retire in February.
During Tuesday night’s County Commission meeting, Commissioner George Dunlap said Herrera died from COVID-19.
“I woke up this morning to an email about a Charlotte police officer who has been a Charlotte police officer for 28 years,” Dunlap said. “In fact, he was set to retire this coming February, and we learned this morning that he passed away because of COVID. Four months shy of his retirement. So, I wanted to say to the community that COVID is real. And for all of the naysayers who say that one life lost is insignificant, go talk to his family members.”
A sign posted in front of Ardrey Kell High School on Tuesday read sweet messages, like “Rest in Peace Officer Herrera.” Parents and students told Channel 9 that Herrera was more like a father figure than an officer.
“I couldn’t hold my tears,” student Dan Oveve said. “It was a bad moment.”
He said he and several other students cried after hearing of Herrera’s death. Oveve, a transfer student from Russia, said he felt a little out of place when he first arrived on campus, but that Herrera helped him feel at home.
“On the first day of school, he gave me a high five. He was really happy, and I was proud to be in the school because of him.”
Several students said they knew Herrera was in the hospital, but they figured the man who mentors so many of them would return.
“Pretty sad. It’s unfortunate,” student Evan Campos said. “His kindness — his presence. I saw him every day.”
The mother of another student said Herrera treated the kids as if they were his own.
“A father figure,” parent Nasheika Moore said. “He called them his students. Just heartbreak and devastation.”
Grief counselors will be at Ardrey Kell High School for the rest of the week.
wbtv
