Detective is 1st cop killed by the bug

Death follows that of 2 civilian NYPD employees

of our family in a little over 48 hours,” Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said Saturday. “As I stand here, I cannot begin to describe what we are feeling, what the family of these three heroes are feeling.

“We are hurting, we are crying, and we are continuing to fight. We simply have no other choice,” he said. “It is in our heart and it is in our soul to sacrifice, to serve, to fight for you.”

Friends and colleagues described Dixon as a bighearted man, Shea said.

“I’ve spoke to many of his friends and co-workers since this morning, and he was known as the person who would do anything to help you. If you had something broken, he was particularly fond of fixing technology and electronics. He is going to be so sorely missed,” Shea said.

Dixon’s death comes as the number of cops testing positive for coronavirus has more than doubled since Thursday. The NYPD said 608 cops tested positive for the virus on Saturday, 38% more than the 442 who were positive on Friday and 107% more than the 294 who were positive on Thursday.

Police said 4,342 cops called in sick on Saturday, 12% of the uniformed workforce.

The surge in sick cops has forced the department to shuffle its personnel, moving detectives assigned to gang and narcotics units to precinct detective squads, for example.

“When we emerge from this crisis — and make no mistake, we will emerge from this crisis — may we never forget the sacrifice of those workers who put themselves in harm’s way to keep you and your family safe,” Shea said.

Dixon joined the department in 1997 and worked at the Bronx’s 40th Precinct before being promoted to detective.

“We will always be here for his family and we will never forget him,” Paul DiGiacomo, head of the Detectives’ Endowment Association, said Saturday.

The association bought 4,000 masks for its members,