Director N. Kyle Coleman

N. Kyle Coleman

Director Kyle Coleman died after contracting COVID-19 while coordinating the county's emergency response to the pandemic.

Director Coleman had served in law enforcement for 46 years. He had retired from the Bexar County Sheriff's Office before joining the Bexar County Fire Marshal's Office, where remained a sworn law enforcement officer and served as the county's director of the Office of Emergency Management. He is survived by his wife and two stepsons.

Director Coleman was a highly respected researcher of forgotten line of duty deaths in Texas and surrounding states. He was a regular contributor and researcher for the Officer Down Memorial Page and the Texas Peace Officers' Memorial Foundation. He was personally responsible for the discovery and research of countless line of duty deaths in Texas.

The Effects of COVID on Law Enforcement

Beginning in early 2020, thousands of law enforcement officers and other first responders throughout the country began to contract COVID-19 during the worldwide pandemic. Due to the nature of their job, law enforcement officers were required to work and interact with the community even as the majority of the country was self-quarantined. As a result, hundreds of officers died from COVID-related illnesses and other complications.

Corrections agencies, in particular, suffered tremendous losses due to the constant and close proximity between the corrections officers and large inmate populations. Since March 2020, ODMP has verified that over 600 law enforcement officers have died as the result of a confirmed or presumed exposure while on duty and continues to work with hundreds of other agencies that have suffered a COVID-related death.

Visit ODMP's COVID-19 memorial listing every officer who has died as a result of a confirmed or presumed exposure.