COVID

New Bedford police sergeant dies from COVID-19

More than 17,000 people have died from COVID-19 in Massachusetts.

New Bedford police sergeant Michael Cassidy has died of COVID-19, according to the department.

Cassidy joined the NBPD in 1994 after serving in Operation Desert Storm as a Marine. He worked in uniform patrol, narcotics, criminal investigations, and firearms during his career.

“This is a tremendous loss to our department and to the City of New Bedford as we all know Sgt. Cassidy was a proud officer who served the people of this city with his whole heart,” said acting chief Paul Oliveira. “Sgt. Cassidy loved being a police officer and went above and beyond to impact the lives of others in a positive way.”

Advertisement:

Cassidy received several accolades throughout his tenure, including New Bedford Life Saving Awards in 2006 and 2018. The 2018 award was given for his off-duty efforts to help a grocery store worker in medical distress, Mayor Jon Mitchell said in a statement.

The mayor ordered flags at city buildings to be lowered to half-staff. Funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date.

17,227 people have died of COVID-19 in Massachusetts, according to data from the Department of Public Health released on Wednesday.

Get Boston.com's browser alerts:

Enable breaking news notifications straight to your internet browser.

To comment, please create a screen name in your profile

Conversation

This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com