End of Watch September 18, 2021
Age 45
Tour of Duty 1 yrs
The Vigil Panel 177 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Location: Georgia Incident Date: Not available

Deportation Officer Jermaine Turner died as a result of contracting COVID-19 while serving at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Field Office at 180 Ted Turner Drive SW in Atlanta, Georgia.

Deportation Officer Turner was a United States Navy veteran and had served with the United States Department of Homeland Security - Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations for one year.

COVID-19 and Law Enforcement

Deportation Officer Olynthia Jermaine Turner died on September 18, 2021 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. He was 45.

He is one of 884 officers honored here, and one of 13 at United States Department of Homeland Security - Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations.

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 wife, two sons, parents, brother, and two sisters.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-FED-B24E7CC2
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.
Deportation Officer Turner gave the United States Department of Homeland Security 1 year.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deportation Officer Turner.

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

Agency

Service Record

End of Watch September 18, 2021
Tour of Duty 1 yrs
Age 45
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Illness

Military Service

Olynthia Jermaine Turner served in the Navy (1994–2014) before joining law enforcement.

View full service record on salute.nw →

Deportation Officer Olynthia Jermaine Turner 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 DC, 137 of 1,419 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 9.7% of this state's fallen. That is 0.6 percentage points above the national rate of 9.1%.

At United States Department of Homeland Security - Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations, 13 of 15 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 86.7% of this agency's fallen.

United States Department of Homeland Security - Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations
13
of 15 officers
86.7% Illness
DC — Statewide
137
of 1,419 officers
9.7% Illness
Nationwide
2,974
of 32,508 officers
9.1% Illness

National Cause Distribution

How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Olynthia Jermaine Turner's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How Olynthia Jermaine Turner Compares

Age at End of Watch
45
This officer
Avg for Illness: 47.8 years
Years of Service
1
This officer
Avg for Illness: 18.9 years

When Illness Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Olynthia Jermaine Turner is highlighted in Sep.

Jan
294
Feb
198
Mar
185
Apr
226
May
201
Jun
181
Jul
217
Aug
281
Sep
291
Oct
376
Nov
239
Dec
285

Incident Location