Met police officer, 37, dies after testing positive for Covid

A serving Metropolitan police officer has died after testing positive for Covid-19, the force has announced.

PC Michael Warren, 37, joined the Met in 2005 and had served as a territorial support group (TSG) officer for the past four years.

Warren was classed as vulnerable and had been working remotely while shielding at home, the Met said. He died on Tuesday morning after earlier testing positive for Covid-19. He is survived by his parents, Pauline and Alan, his partner, Vicky, his daughter, Eden, eight, and his son, Joseph, five.

Ch Supt Karen Findlay, of the Met taskforce, said: “Mike was a lovely, genuine and hard-working police officer. To lose his life at the young age of 37 is truly heartbreaking and my deepest thoughts and sympathies are with all who knew him, particularly his parents, Pauline and Alan, his partner, Vicky, and their lovely children.”

She added: “Mike’s passion for policing and serving the communities of London was unwavering, even after he started shielding at home so he could focus on his health given the current risk of Covid-19. He regularly went above and beyond to support his TSG colleagues virtually, doing anything he could to add value – our policing family has lost a kind, genuine and enthusiastic police officer.

“He was very much motivated to return to frontline duties, and he regularly spoke about how he looked forward to putting his uniform back on and going out on patrol with his colleagues. His death is a bitterly stark and upsetting reminder of the human impact of this virus, I know we will all miss him dearly.”

The Met commissioner, Dame Cressida Dick, said earlier this week that three other colleagues, including a police community support officer, had died after contracting Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic.

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, extended his condolences to Warren’s family, friends and colleagues.

“My heart goes out to the entire Met family who continue to work tirelessly on the frontline throughout the biggest public health crisis we have seen in our lifetime. They are the very best of us and we are in their debt,” he said.

“Our key workers, including teachers, TfL staff, London ambulance service and London fire brigade and the Metropolitan police must be protected by the vaccine as soon as possible.

“I will continue to call on the government to accelerate the rollout of the vaccine so it gets to everyone who needs it quickly, particularly those with public-facing roles who so bravely and selflessly serve our city day and night.”

The home secretary, Priti Patel, also paid tribute to Warren. She tweeted: “My thoughts and prayers go out to PC Warren’s family, friends and colleagues in the Met at this incredibly difficult time.

“PC Warren was a truly dedicated officer who went above and beyond to support his team and served the communities of London with unwavering commitment.”

Source: (The Guardian)