NYPD recruit dies after collapsing during training. Medical examiner working to determine if heat was a factor
NEW YORK -- A New York City Police Department recruit died during training Wednesday, and the medical examiner is now working to determine if heat played a role.
Police sources tell CBS New York Probationary Officer Edgar Ordonez, 33, was training outdoors at the department's shooting range at Rodman's Neck in the Bronx when he collapsed just before noon.
He was rushed to Jacobi Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
According to sources, there is a strong possibility Wednesday's high heat and humidity were factors in his death, but the medical examiner has not yet determined the official cause.
"He would have been fully in uniform with his bullet-resistant vest and his gun belt with all the accoutrement on it," said Keith Ross, a John Jay College of Criminal Justice adjunct professor and retired NYPD master instructor from the Police Academy.
He added, "He was doing is something termed the exertion course, and basically what that is -- it is what it sounds like. It's to exert yourself, it's sort of high-intensity training, a lot of running, a lot of sort of situational tactical scenarios."
NYPD mourning loss of Probationary Officer Edgar Ordonez
Emotions were devastatingly high outside Jacobi Medical Center, where NYPD officers lined up late Wednesday afternoon for the dignified transfer of their brother in blue. From there, Ordonez's body was taken to the medical examiner's office in Manhattan, where dozens of officers stood at the ready, hands over hearts.
NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said Ordonez was set to graduate from the Police Academy in just a few days.
"As we continue to grieve this terrible loss, we will keep Edgar's family, friends, and fellow officers in our thoughts and prayers," Caban wrote in a social media post.
"Our brother Police Officer Edgar Ordonez was a beacon of joy and positive energy for his fellow recruits. He had the drive and determination necessary to become a New York City police officer, and he was just days away from hitting the streets and making a difference in protecting our city. From the moment a police officer is sworn into the Police Academy, they become part of our Blue Family. Now we must focus on being there for his family as they deal with this unimaginable loss," Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry said in a statement.