NYPD Chief of Transportation William T. Morris, 61, dies after six weeks on a ventilator during coronavirus battle

The New York Police Department’s Chief of Transportation, William T. Morris, died on Saturday after succumbing to coronavirus, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea has announced.

Morris, 61, had been hospitalized on life support for more than six weeks after he became the second NYPD chief to contract COVID-19 back in April.

The three-star chief, who oversaw traffic and highway patrol, is the highest ranking member of the police department to die from COVID-19. 

Morris had served among the NYPD’s ranks for nearly 39 years prior to his death, having joined the department in 1981, Shea said Sunday.

‘To stay at one institution for as long as Billy did is an incredible accomplishment, and his expertise was a major benefit to our organization,’ the commissioner said of Morris to the NY Daily News.

‘We are eternally grateful to Billy – and to his large family – for every year he gave our police department,’ he added.

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Morris, 61, had been hospitalized on life support for more than six weeks after he became the second NYPD chief to be hospitalized with COVID-19 in April, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said in a tweet announcing his death

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Shea offered his condolences and prayers to Morris’ family and his loved ones, adding that he was ‘saddened’ by the news of his death.  

The commissioner also tweeted a video tribute to Morris and the 44 other NYPD personnel who have died from the virus since the pandemic began in March.  

As of last Monday, 4,435 NYPD members had tested positive for coronavirus, with 2,342 having since returned to work after recovering. 

Former NYPD borough commander Ed Delatorre, who is currently the NYPD’s Transit Bureau chief, was previously hospitalized with the virus but has since recovered.

‘NYC was a much different place in 1981 when Chief Billy Morris came on the Job,’ wrote NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan in a tweeted tribute. 

‘He was always proud to work alongside the greatest men & women in law enforcement to help turn around our city — that’s his legacy. We are all grateful to Billy for his service. Rest In Peace, friend.’ 

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Morris, a three-star chief who oversaw traffic and highway patrol, is the highest ranking member of the department to die of the virus

Morris began his career on patrol after enrolling in the NYPD’s ranks in July 1981. He severed in several posts throughout the city and commanded several precincts, including the 105th and 113th, and severing as the executive officer of the 110th.

‘The greatest things have been the opportunity to make a difference and the opportunity to accept every challenge for which the Police Department has selected me,’ Morris told the Queens Courier in 2010.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio commended Morris’ 39-years of service to the city’s police department, offering the condolences to his family on ‘behalf of all New Yorkers’.

‘For 39 years, Chief Billy Morris served HIS town,’ de Blasio wrote. ‘There was hardly a corner of the Department he didn’t work his way through on his way to the top ranks of the NYPD.’

Morris is survived by his wife of 30 years and his three adult children.

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The veteran (shown center) had served among the NYPD’s ranks for nearly 39 years prior to his death, having joined the law enforcement department in 1981

Former Chief of Transit Joseph Fox, who worked with Chief Morris for over 25 years told AM New York he was ‘a brilliant man’ whom he’d come ‘to know rather well’.

‘My fondest memories are of when we would take walks during breaks and talk about our lives and careers – I was ahead of him at the time in career tracks, but our careers were parallel. He brought a lot of substance, innovation and professionalism the department – he was an amazing man.’

Fox told the outlet he has been left deeply saddened by Morris’ death.

‘I thought of Bill’s family and how the family of cops fear for their loved ones that they might get hurt, but then you go through the ranks and become and executive and the fear subsides,' Fox said. “That’s why this is so shocking in this case – he had thoughts and plans and this has been taken away from our city and the world.'