SAN FRANCISCO — A San Francisco police recruit officer died Friday, just days after he suffered a medical emergency while training at the academy, according to police.
The death is believed to be the first of its kind for the San Francisco Police Department.
The recruit — identified as Jon-Marques Psalms, 30, of San Francisco — suffered the emergency after finishing a training exercise Wednesday, police said in a news release.
Psalms was taken to an area hospital, where he later died.
Psalms grew up in Southern California and attended college in Louisiana. He then moved to the Bay Area, where he worked in the tech industry before pursuing a career in law enforcement.
Earlier this year, Psalms joined Recruit Class 286 and “formed a tight bond with his fellow recruits,” according to police.
“The death of a recruit at the academy is incredibly unusual and tragic,” the police department said in a follow-up social media post Friday night. “This is the first death of a recruit during training that the SFPD is aware of. The entire SFPD, Recruit Class 286 and Psalms’ family and friends are struggling with this tragedy.”
The training exercise Psalms had completed is a course mandated by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, or POST, according to police.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will conduct an investigation and issue a report on the cause of death. Probes are also underway by Cal/OSHA and the police department.
Check back for updates.
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