Officer John Paul Patrick suffered a medical episode while on duty on Oct. 6, which Chief John Cook said ultimately led to his passing on Monday, Oct. 21.
On Tuesday, Oct. 22, Patrick was posthumously promoted to the rank of detective. He is survived by a wife, two young children, a host of caring family members and colleagues.
Officer Patrick joined the SPD in May 2007 after graduating from the Cape May County Police Academy.
After spending the early part of his career as a patrol officer, Patrick was assigned as an investigator within the Investigative Division from 2018 through 2021, where he excelled in investigations involving all forms of cybercrime and fraud, having achieved the status of a Certified Fraud Examiner on his personal time, Cook said.
During his time in the Investigative Division, Patrick was assigned on loan to the Union County Prosecutor’s Office High-Tech Crimes Unit for several months and received a vast amount of training from the National White Collar Crime Center.
Although Patrick's true passion was investigative work, he was always willing to take on new challenges and help out any way he could. He received additional training and became an instructor in several areas including Ballistic Shield, Defensive Tactics, and BLS, as well as being a Field Training Officer. He was also one of the newest members of Springfield's ARRIVE team.
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