Massachusetts jail officer dies from COVID complications; family says he was not vaccinated

An Essex jail officer has died from complications from the coronavirus in another front-line fatality as the virus digs in for the winter.

Correctional Officer Anthony Pasquarello, 37, of Saugus, died Thursday, Essex Sheriff Kevin Coppinger announced.

The officer was not vaccinated. Through the sheriff’s department, the family said Anthony lived a healthy lifestyle and had no underlying conditions and his illness should serve as a caution to all about the risks of not being vaccinated.

“The family has asked us to use this tragedy as an educational tool to help show what can easily happen if you are not vaccinated,” Coppinger told the Herald Friday. “He was a normal 37-year-old dad and his illness took a turn the worst it possibly could.”

Coppinger said a vaccine mandate for his 600 employees starts Jan. 4, a decision he made last month. Exemptions are on the table, he added.

“This is a tragic, tragic loss,” the sheriff added. “It hurts. We’re a family and we’ve been through COVID going up and down. This time it hit home hard.”

He said Pasquarello was a popular officer and “dedicated employee” who had a high-risk job transporting prisoners to courts and hospitals. “No we have to bury him,” he added.

A second Essex officer is hospitalized but is improving, a spokeswoman said. No further details were available.

Pasquarello was a 15-year veteran of the department who “who served with great distinction. We pray for his family during this very difficult time, as well as for his brothers and sisters at the Essex County Sheriff’s Department who are in great mourning over his passing,” Coppinger said in a statement he put out early Friday.

Pasquarello is survived by his parents, a 6-year-old son, his fiancee, two sisters and several aunts and uncles.

Coppinger and the Essex County Sheriff’s Department were joined by Massachusetts State Police and local police departments at Lahey Clinic in Burlington where they escorted the body of Officer Pasquarello to the McDonald Funeral Home in Wakefield.

Officer Pasquarello’s family also attended a candlelight vigil at 4 p.m. at the Essex County Jail and House of Correction, 20 Manning Avenue, Middleton.

Funeral arrangements will be announced when complete.

News of his death comes as state health officials reported 5,472 new daily coronavirus cases Thursday and 27 new COVID deaths, bringing the state’s total recorded death toll to 19,606. The daily average of deaths is now 17, compared to 77 daily deaths during the peak of last winter’s surge.