NEWNAN, Ga. — A Newnan school resource officer has lost his month-long battle against COVID-19.
Newnan Police Chief Brent Blankenship said in a Facebook post that Officer Frankie Gutierrez has passed away from complications from the virus.
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“During his time at the department he quickly grew to become family. There was not a day that went by that he was not smiling and laughing. He will be missed by all of us here at NPD,” the post read.
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Police did not comment on whether or not Gutierrez was vaccinated against the virus.
“He fought it with all of his might,” Chief Blankenship said in the statement.
According to a GoFundMe set up for the family, Gutierrez had four children, including a newborn.
He had recently taken a position as a School Resource Officer with at Welch Elementary School so he could spend more time with his wife and the baby, who was born in July, according to the Newnan Times-Herald.
Officer Van Meadows told the Times-Herald that he probably only worked one or two full days at the school before getting sick.
Gutierrez joined the Newnan Police Department in 2018.