By Jeff Carillo
SFGate, San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO — A San Francisco Police Department recruit officer has died after suffering a medical emergency at the academy on Wednesday, the department announced on social media Friday.
Recruit Officer Jon-Marques Psalms, 30, had completed a training exercise before suffering the emergency, the statement said. He was given medical treatment on-site before being taken to the hospital by paramedics, where he later died, on Friday, according to the department.
Police did not specify what training Psalms participated in before suffering the emergency, but according to reporting by the SF Standard, Psalms took part in an endurance exercise in RedMan training gear, thick, head-to-toe padding used by law enforcement in sparring and combat training.
SFPD said the training Psalms had completed was mandated by POST, the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training , the agency responsible for setting minimum selection and training standards for California law enforcement.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and Cal/ OSHA, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, are investigating the incident, per SFPD. The department is also conducting its own internal investigation into Psalms’ death, the statement said.
Psalms was a San Francisco resident who grew up in Southern California before moving up to the Bay Area after going to an out-of-state college; he previously “worked in the tech industry before pursuing his passion” in a career in law enforcement, SFPD said.
He was part of Recruit Class 286, and SFPD called his passing “incredibly unusual and tragic,” stating it’s “the first death of a recruit during training that the SFD is aware of.”
Mayor Daniel Lurie reacted to Psalms’ death in a post on X late on Friday night, calling it an “especially painful” tragedy.
“As I’ve spoken to Recruit Officer Psalms’ parents over the past couple of painful days, they told me about the sense of purpose he found from his work and his squad of fellow recruits,” Lurie said. “He was so looking forward to graduating with all of them and joining the ranks of the SFPD. His dedication to the city will never be forgotten by his fellow recruit officers, our police department, and a grateful city.”
SFPD said it will follow up with “more information about arrangements” and how the community can help Psalms’ family.
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