Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrol Officer Brian Sember died from complications as the result of contracting COVID-19 in the line of duty.
Officer Sember was a United States Marine Corps veteran and had served with the Ottawa Police Department for 23 years.
COVID-19 and Law Enforcement
Patrol Officer Brian Lee Sember died on April 3, 2022 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. He was 49.
He is one of 884 officers honored here.
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.
Survivors
He is survived by his two children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-IL-D74C7EBF- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
Are you family? This record can be claimed and maintained by those who knew Brian. Claim this record.
Also honored at salute.nw — U.S. Marine Corps. One record, 2 gates. Brian is one person.
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Tributes
The country locked its doors. You kept working.
Patrol Officer Sember gave the Ottawa Police Department 23 years.
Thank you for your service to the Ottawa community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrol Officer Sember.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Brian Lee Sember served in the U.S. Marine Corps before joining law enforcement.
Patrol Officer Brian Lee Sember is one of 1 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,756 officers honored here.
In IL, 66 of 1,318 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 5% of this state's fallen. That is 5 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Brian Lee Sember's cause is highlighted.
How Brian Lee Sember Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Brian Lee Sember is highlighted in Apr.
Incident Location
Military Service
Brian Lee Sember served in the U.S. Marine Corps before joining law enforcement.
Visit Brian Lee Sember’s page on salute.nw →
His full service record — units, decorations, where he served — is kept on salute.nw.
Others Who Wore This Badge
0 officers from Ottawa Police Department are honored on badge.nw.