LI Cop In COVID-19 Line-Of-Duty Death ‘A Family Man’

RONKONKOMA, NY — A sea of blue could be seen on the street outside of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton R.C. Church in Lake Ronkonkoma on Monday as colleagues in law enforcement gathered for the funeral of Nassau County Police Officer Hector Nunez who died after contracting COVID-19 in the line-of-duty.

The 42-year-old Nunez, an officer for 16 years who worked out of the 5th Precinct in Elmont, died last Wednesday after having been hospitalized since November at Stony Brook University Hospital.

Robert Garland, a New York Police Department detective who runs Fund the First, said that from what he has been told, “Hector was an absolute family man.”

“It's horrible,” he said, explaining that as a father he cannot imagine “leaving a family behind like that.”

A fundraising page set up on Fund the First to help Nunez’s family, including his wife, Jesenia, and four children, with funeral expenses has collected over $46,000 of its $50,000 goal so far.

Nunez’s union delegate reached out to Garland to start the page because he wanted to make sure the funds were raised properly and through a trusted source, Garland said.

It has been good to see the support that the family has received, but it’s not the money that is important, he said.

“That money needs nothing,” he said. “What means something is the 452 donors that have come in and have commented and left their love for that family.”

It’s sentiment that can really bring together a family during “a time of need,” he added.

Nunez was a Centereach resident who worked as a patrol cop in Valley Stream.

He was named one of the county's top cops after a daring rescue in which he and two colleagues helped bring a man to safety after he had been trapped inside of a deli that was on fire in Valley Stream in 2019, Newsday reported.

Nunez was also a field training officer and was also active in the Nassau County Police Hispanic Society, according to Newsday.

Nunez’s former partner, Gregory Martin, told News 12 that he was loved by everyone, adding, "the first thing that you would recognize about him was his smile."

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran and Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder announced Nunez's death "with deep regret."

Ryder told Newsday the officer was known for "doing the right thing by the community," knew all of the shop owners, and often stopped in to say hello.

He is the third Nassau officer to die from COVID-9 this year.

Jerry Barmash contributed additional reporting to this story.