Roll of Honor
Incident
Police Officer Phillip Vavrinec died as a result of contracting COVID-19 while serving as a School Resource Officer at Charles W. Harris Elementary School at 2252 N. 55th Avenue in Phoenix.
Officer Vavrinec had served with the Phoenix Police Department for 19 years.
COVID-19 and Law Enforcement
Police Officer Phillip James Vavrinec, Jr. died on September 22, 2021 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. He was 50.
He is one of 884 officers honored here, and one of 3 at Phoenix Police Dept..
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 mother, father, brother, and fiancee.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-AZ-BF0D374D- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
The country locked its doors. You kept working.
Police Officer Vavrinec gave the Phoenix Police Department 19 years.
Thank you for your service to the Phoenix community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Vavrinec.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer Phillip James Vavrinec, Jr. is one of 2,974 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 9.1% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In AZ, 16 of 330 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 4.8% of this state's fallen. That is 4.3 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.
At Phoenix Police Dept., 3 of 47 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 6.4% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Phillip James Vavrinec, Jr.'s cause is highlighted.
How Phillip James Vavrinec, Jr. Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Phillip James Vavrinec, Jr. is highlighted in Sep.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
46 officers from Phoenix Police Dept. are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
