Roll of Honor
Incident
Police Officer Jose Fontanez died as the result of contracting COVID-19 while on duty.
Officer Fontanez had served with the Boston Police Department for 29 years and was assigned to District E-13 (Jamaica Plain).
COVID-19 and Law Enforcement
Police Officer Jose V. Fontanez died on April 14, 2020 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. He was 53.
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, four children, and one grandchild.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MA-3EA7F393- 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.
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Tributes
The country locked its doors. You kept working.
Police Officer Fontanez gave the Boston Police Department 29 years.
Thank you for your service to the Roxbury Crossing community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Fontanez.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer Jose V. Fontanez 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 MA, 59 of 469 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 12.6% of this state's fallen. That is 12.6 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
At Boston Police Department, 22 of 106 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 20.8% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Jose V. Fontanez's cause is highlighted.
How Jose V. Fontanez Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Jose V. Fontanez is highlighted in Apr.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
105 officers from Boston Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
