Essex County Cop Retires After COVID Takes Both His Lungs

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A retiring police sergeant in Essex County who lost both of his lungs to the coronavirus took his final radio call to a round of heartfelt applause earlier this month.

During his 24-year career with the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, Edward Negron has faced many challenges. But his experience with COVID-19 was the toughest, authorities said.

According to the prosecutor’s office, Negron contracted the virus while working as a detective in 2021. The disease compromised his cardiovascular system and impaired his lungs, eventually requiring a double lung transplant.

Thankfully, the operation was successful. But given the severity of his condition, Negron decided to retire from the prosecutor’s office on Aug. 1.

It was a bittersweet decision not only for Negron, but for his law enforcement peers, who consider “Eddie” to be a beloved figure in the prosecutor’s office and use terms like “brother” and “stand-up guy” when his name comes up, a spokesperson wrote on a recent web post.

When Negron walked out of the prosecutor’s office for the last time earlier this month, a crowd of supporters gathered to bid him farewell. As he exited the office building and entered the parking lot, Negron encountered a “blue wall” of detectives, police officers, and prosecutors – colleagues who clapped, whistled and cheered him on.

Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens II awarded Negron a plaque in honor of his 24 years of service to law enforcement.

“You deserve all this adulation from your colleagues,” Stephens said. “You gave maximum effort to keeping our community safe, and we appreciate your service. Congratulations, my brother.”

Mitchell McGuire, chief of detectives, said when he first arrived in the prosecutor’s office, Negron showed him what it is to be a “cop’s cop.”

“I speak for all of us here when I say that you are a hero, and you are our brother,” he told Negron. “I’m sad to see you go, but happy you are moving on to a new phase of your life – family time.”

Negron, flanked by two of his sons, thanked his colleagues for their support, especially when he was in the hospital for the double lung transplant surgery.

“It was hard, but I have another shot at life,” the grateful law enforcement officer said. “Let’s see what happens next.”

When it came time for his final radio call, Negron contacted the dispatcher, only to hear a booming voice reply with the following:

“Sergeant Negron began his career with the East Newark Police Department in July of 1998, where he worked tireless hours as a police officer. In May of 2005, he was hired by the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, where he distinguished himself as a tenacious detective. He worked in the Adult Trial Section, Juvenile Unit, and the Narcotics Task Force, where he worked on many high-profile narcotics investigations that led to numerous prosecutions. He was also on loan to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for three years. In February of 2020, he was promoted to the rank of sergeant by Prosecutor Stephens and Chief McGuire. He was the supervisor of the Juvenile Unit for a short time, but his leadership left a lasting impact on the men and women he supervised. He is the proud father of three boys: Devin Negron, 20, Chase Negron, 15, and Mason Negron, 13. In 2021, he fell ill to Covid-19, and as a result underwent double lung transplant surgery. In true warrior fashion, he battled through his condition, and is an inspiration to us all. On behalf of your family at the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, thank you for 24 years of exceptional service. Sergeant Negron. You are now officially retired.”

FUNDRAISER FOR EDDIE

A GoFundMe campaign in Negron’s name seeks to help the retired officer deal with an “extraordinary amount of medical bills that his current medical plan will not cover.”

As of Tuesday, the effort has raised nearly $10,000. Learn more or make a donation here.

The online fundraiser explains more about the need and Negron’s road to rehabilitation:

“In April of 2020, while working in his official capacity, Eddie contracted the COVID-19 virus in a way that most of us were lucky not to. Throughout his battle with COVID-19, Eddie suffered numerous complications which resulted in irreparable damage to both of his lungs leaving him in a debilitative state with little-to-no capacity to breathe landing him in the Intensive Care Unit for a 5 month stay. While battling COVID during his hospitalization, all attempts were made to restore his lungs and breathing capabilities to a satisfactory level to no avail. At that point a decision was made to place Eddie on an organ donation list to receive a lung transplant. In July of 2020, Eddie received word that a lung donor was available. Shortly thereafter Eddie was airlifted to a specialized hospital in Philadelphia where he underwent successful double-lung transplant surgery. After the surgery, Eddie underwent months of physical therapy and was able to resume much of his regular daily activities. Recently, Eddie’s body began rejecting the transplanted lungs at an accelerated rate. His doctors had informed him that one of his lungs had been completely rejected by his body and would need to be removed. As such, Eddie has once again been placed on an organ donation list to receive a lung transplant.”

The fundraiser continues:

“Eddie is a 24-year law enforcement veteran with the East Newark Police Department and Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. He was recently granted two-thirds retirement, not including paid medical benefits. Eddie is currently dealing with an extraordinary amount of medical bills that his current medical plan will not cover. Eddie also makes frequent 4 hour round trips to Philadelphia to receive care from his medical team as well as rehabilitation services.”

This isn’t the only fundraiser that has been launched to help a hardworking New Jersey resident defray the cost of tremendous medical bills. According to GoFundMe, it hosts more than 250,000 medical campaigns every year. Those fundraisers take in more than $650 million in donations.

In New Jersey, people seeking help for medical bills on GoFundMe included teachers, police officers and decorated military veterans. Many have found themselves in need of financial help despite having health insurance, they say.

• See related article: Meet 10 NJ Families Who Had To Crowdfund For Health Care
• See related article: These 9 NJ Families Crowdfunded To Pay Their Medical Bills

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site. Learn more about advertising on Patch here.