Arlington PD Mourns Death of Recruit Officer

ARLINGTON (WBAP/KLIF) – The Arlington Police Department is mourning the death of a Police recruit Officer.

According to APD, Recruit Marquis Kennedy was a member of Academy Class 62, which began instruction on July 25. He was pronounced dead by medical staff on Sunday, September 25. The cause of his death is under investigation.

APD said Monday that Kennedy and the other members of Class 62 were participating in defensive tactics training on Friday when Kennedy indicated to training staff that he was not feeling well. He was removed from the exercise and told to sit with a member of the training staff for further monitoring. A short time later, he collapsed. Training staff immediately began performing CPR on him and continued to do so until EMS personnel arrived. He was transported to a nearby hospital.

“Our hearts are broken,” said Chief of Police Al Jones. “Recruit Kennedy had a bright and promising future as a police officer. On behalf of the Arlington Police Department, I want to express our deepest condolences to his family and our profound gratitude for his service to the City of Arlington. I ask the community to join me in lifting up his immediate and police families with love and prayer during this extremely difficult time.”

The department notified Recruit Kennedy’s family of the situation and helped ensure they could get to the hospital to be with him. The department’s Peer Support team was also activated and made available to his fellow recruits and the training staff.