A 19-year veteran of the Sands Point Police Department has died of the coronavirus, according to Police Chief Tom Ruehle.
Ruehle wrote in a post to the department’s Facebook group that Sergeant Joseph Spinosa, 52, had died due to the virus, having tested positive on April 1. He is thought to be the first Long Island police officer to die of the virus, Ruehle told Newsday.
Spinosa, originally of Hicksville, had been hired in September of 2000 and promoted to sergeant in December of 2018.
The sergeant was decorated for his service, receiving the Nassau County Municipal Police Chief’s Officer of the Year Award in 2008 and the department’s Life Saving Award in 2015.
His passing will be counted as a line-of-duty death, the first in the department’s century-long history. With Spinosa’s passing, the police force in Sands Point now numbers 19.
Spinosa is survived by his mother Carole, of Hicksville, and was predeceased by his father and brother.
“He will be forever missed and loved,” Ruehle wrote.
A final salute and send-off for Spinosa was held by the department on April 19 at Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola.
