Roll of Honor
Incident
Detective Sergeant Stephen Desfosses died from complications as the result of contracting COVID-19 during a confirmed exposure while on duty.
Sergeant Desfosses was a United States Army and Army Reserve veteran and had served with the Norton Police Department for 30 years.
COVID-19 and Law Enforcement
Detective Sergeant Stephen R. Desfosses died on January 13, 2021 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. He was 52.
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 wife and four children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MA-02C62258- 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.
Detective Sergeant Desfosses gave the Norton Police Department 30 years.
Thank you for your service to the Norton community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Detective Sergeant Desfosses.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Stephen R. Desfosses served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Detective Sergeant Stephen R. Desfosses 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 MA, 59 of 469 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 12.6% of this state's fallen. That is 3.5 percentage points above the national rate of 9.1%.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Stephen R. Desfosses's cause is highlighted.
How Stephen R. Desfosses Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Stephen R. Desfosses is highlighted in Jan.