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Here is what we know for sure: Bennett, a 39-year-old openly gay man who had been with the neighboring Broward County Sheriff’s Office for more than 12 years, was engaged to be married to his fiancé, Jonathan Frey, this December. He was a school resource officer and mentor for students, according to CNN.
“He was the love of my life and I know his legacy is going to live on, one way or another. But he was a beautiful soul,” Frey said in an interview with local outlet WPLG, adding that Bennett had no underlying health issues prior to the virus. As reported by the Herald, Bennett contracted the virus while “in the line of duty.”
“All he really had at first was just a fever. He had a slight headache, that was about, I want to say, a couple days before the hospital,” Frey told WPLG. Bennett is believed to be the first police officer to die from COVID-19 in Florida.
Here’s what the complaint alleges. “Chief Engle allegedly yelled about a ‘backstory’ which proclaimed that Deputy Bennett contracted and died from the virus because he was a ‘homosexual who attended homosexual sexual events,’” the complaint, written by the chief of staff for the Florida State Fraternal Order of Police, Mike Tucker, read. Several police officers reportedly complained about Engle’s comments.
The complaint, which referenced a patrol meeting on April 7, alleged that Engle continued on with “presumable desired effect of intimidating the members and discouraging any other department employees from complaining or expressing concerns in the future.” Engle allegedly “intimated that it was because of the homosexual lifestyle that Deputy Bennett first contracted a serious underlying disease which aggravated the Covid-19 virus and lead to his death.”
“I made comments concerning the death of BSO Deputy Bennett as reported in the local media. These comments were relative to COVID-19 and personal protective equipment. My intent was to provide as much information to personnel as possible. If my comments were taken out of context, they were not intended to be derogatory,” Engle reportedly wrote in an email to his staff.
Frey offered the following statement, as reported by WPLG: “The Chief’s alleged comments are completely false, homophobic, and slanderous. I look forward to the fair and impartial investigation initiated by the Town Manager, and I hope that appropriate action will be taken at its conclusion.”
The National Fraternal Order of Police also tweeted about the allegations.
In the bigger picture, personal protective equipment for first responders, including police, continues to be an issue. As Daily Kos previously reported, a police chief urged the Trump administration to “stop testing NBA players” and start testing first responders instead. While medical workers ranging from nurses and physicians to home care aides and janitorial staffs are certainly at high risk for exposure, other frontline workers like the police and EMTs are also at considerable risk, especially given that they may enter someone’s home, touch their property, or be in close contact while conversing.
