Taiwo Caroline Obele

Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division — Huntsville, TX

COVID-19 → Illness

End of Watch February 16, 2021

Age 68

Tour of Duty 2 yrs

The Vigil Panel 386 · Column 2 · Line 17 ›

Gender Female

Incident Media Service The Sacrifice Memorials 1 Also Remembered Department 123

Incident

Corrections Officer IV Taiwo Obele died from complications as the result of contracting COVID-19 during an outbreak among employees and inmates at the Beto Unit in Palestine, Texas.

Officer Obele had served with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for two years.

Beginning in early 2020, thousands of law enforcement officers and other first responders throughout the country began to contract COVID-19 during the worldwide pandemic. Due to the nature of their job, law enforcement officers were required to work and interact with the community even as the majority of the country was self-quarantined. As a result, hundreds of officers died from COVID-related illnesses and other complications.

Corrections agencies, in particular, suffered tremendous losses due to the constant and close proximity between the corrections officers and large inmate populations. Since March 2020, ODMP has verified that over 900 law enforcement officers have died as the result of a confirmed or presumed exposure while on duty and continues to work with hundreds of other agencies that have suffered a COVID-related death.

Visit ODMP's COVID-19 memorial listing every officer who has died as a result of a confirmed or presumed exposure.

COVID-19 and Law Enforcement

Corrections Officer IV Taiwo Caroline Obele died on February 16, 2021 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. She was 68.

She is one of 885 officers honored here, and one of 55 at Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division.

Beginning in early 2020, law enforcement officers across the country contracted COVID-19 in the course of their duties. While much of the nation sheltered at home, they kept answering calls, making arrests, transporting prisoners, and working face to face with the public. There was no distance to be had from the job.

Corrections officers were hit hardest. Confined facilities and large populations meant constant, close, unavoidable exposure.

In Our Keeping

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Last updated: September 9, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

The country locked its doors. You kept working.
Corrections Officer IV Obele gave the Texas Department of Criminal Justice 2 years.
Thank you for your service to the Huntsville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Corrections Officer IV Obele.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Department Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division

Type Corrections

Location Huntsville, Walker County, TX

Platform Identity tdcjcidcorr.walker.tx.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch February 16, 2021

Tour of Duty 2 yrs

Age 68

Gender Female

Incident Details

Cause Illness

The Sacrifice · Illness

Taiwo is one of 2,028 officers lost to illness in the United States, 7.4% of the 27,552 remembered there.

34,103 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.

Compare against

Time

In 2021, 564 officers in the United States were lost to illness, more than in any other year.

Every year on record · United States

Who

Taiwo was 68. Of the 1,996 lost to illness in the United States whose age is recorded, half were between 42 and 58; the middle age was 51. Taiwo had served 2 years; the middle length of service was 20 years.