A funeral and final procession were held Saturday for Officer Jose Fontanez, a decorated veteran of the Boston Police Department who died of complications from the novel coronavirus this week.
Officers saluted Fontanez, a 29-year veteran of the force, from a distance as he was taken from a funeral home in Jamaica Plain, where he spent most of his police career, to a cemetery in Forest Hills.
Commissioner William Gross led the group in the Lord's Prayer.
The Boston Police Department thanked those who had extended their heartfelt condolences or attended the funeral procession for Fontanez.
"Thank you," the department's tweet read. "Your outpouring of support will not soon be forgotten."
The department also asked members of the community to light their homes blue Saturday night to honor him, rather than gather together -- which is dangerous amid the coronavirus outbreak.
This was the first death related to the coronavirus outbreak announced by Boston police, and Walsh called him a hero in identifying him Wednesday.
On Thursday, police officers and firefighters in masks saluted Fontanez as a procession carried him from Boston Medical Center, where he was treated, past his precinct in Jamaica Plain and to the funeral home.
