Chicago police officer is first from department to die of COVID-19
Chicago IL April 3 2020
A Chicago police officer stricken with COVID-19 has died, making him the first cop in the department to die from the disease, officials said.
The officer, Marco DiFranco, 50, was pronounced dead at 1:02 a.m. Thursday at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
An emotional Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced the officer’s death, standing alongside interim police Superintendent Charlie Beck and Fraternal Order of Police President Kevin Graham.
“It is with profound sadness that I’m here to announce the painful news, that for the second time in two days, Chicago has lost another city employee to the COVID-19 virus,” Lightfoot said. “This time, it was a Chicago Police Department officer.”
Since the coronavirus outbreak began, health care workers and first responders have been on the front line protecting the public, she said.
“Tragically, this officer gave his life to that fight,” Lightfoot said. “Our hearts go out to the individual’s family, friends and fellow officers whose lives have been forever changed by this terrible loss.”
At last report on Wednesday afternoon, 62 Chicago police officers and two civilian employees of the department had tested positive for the coronavirus.
The tragic news came exactly one year after Lightfoot was elected mayor. Asked how she’s doing in light of the anniversary, Lightfoot choked up.
“I spoke to Officer DiFranco’s wife right before I came out here. Those are very hard conversations to have, when a wife and a family are sitting in that moment with their grief, and I always offer my sincere condolences and sincerely offer to support the family in any way I can,” Lightfoot said.
“But having been through death and grief myself, these moments are so surreal, they are so hard, so I’m feeling that for that family. I’m lucky because I still have my mother, I still have my siblings, and I have an incredible wife and daughter who sustain me every single day.”
In a memo to the 13,000-strong department Thursday morning, Beck said DiFranco was a 21-year CPD veteran.
“I’m devastated to share the news that a member of the Chicago Police Department passed away last night from complications of the COVID-19 virus,” Beck said.
In the memo, Beck said DiFranco contracted the virus last week, though he didn’t say whether he likely got infected while on or off duty. The officer was hospitalized this past weekend.
Beck also said DiFranco had past health issues but didn’t specify what they were.
“Despite some previous health challenges, the severity of the COVID-19 virus became overbearing,” said Beck.
Hired by CPD in May 1998, DiFranco is survived by a wife and two children, and his brother is a Chicago police officer also assigned to the narcotics unit, Beck said.
DiFranco was also highly decorated officer, earning over 150 awards.
“His sacrifice underscores the threats that are faced by public safety employees who are not, by nature of their profession, allowed to shelter in place, shelter at home,” said Beck. “We have always been more at risk for violence because of our profession, and now I think we are more at risk of virus because of our profession.”
Beck said DiFranco had “more minimal contact with the public than a patrol officer does” due to his undercover assignment in the narcotics unit.
He also worked by himself instead of with a partner in the same car. Pairing two officers to a car could potentially enhance the risk of an officer contracting the disease.
Beck said the department has been looking to have as many one-person squad cars on the street as possible. But he said that must be balanced against the need for more cops on the street to combat violence.
When cops work in two-person cars, Beck said, he’s directed that officers work with the same partner consistently to minimize the chances of contracting the disease.
“As everybody that’s listening knows, this is a silent killer who comes from many aspects in your life and it’s very difficult to tell where and when you would get it unless you’ve done some obvious traveling, or things like that,” said Beck.
He said DiFranco has family members who were quarantined and his work space was sanitized.
Police officials, as well as Chicago Department of Public Health officials, were looking into whether DiFranco contracted the virus from another officer while reporting to the Homan Square police facility, where he was based, said Anthony Guglielmi, a police spokesman. But Guglielmi acknowledged DiFranco could have become infected elsewhere.
Guglielmi also said CPD was looking into whether DiFranco’s death could be classified as being in the line of duty, which would entitle his family to special financial benefits.
In light of the pandemic, some Chicago police officers have complained to the Tribune about a shortage of personal protective equipment, including masks, gloves other protective clothing.
On Thursday, however, Lightfoot said, “the truth is that the Chicago Police Department from the very beginning of this crisis was one of the first to receive thousands of pieces of equipment. Thousands.”
