N.J. Officer Back From Iraq Found Dead (Hazmat team called)

[benburch]

(EDIT: Forgot the link http://www.wnbc.com/news/7557625/detail.html )

N.J. Officer Back From Iraq Found Dead

POSTED: 9:05 pm EST February 28, 2006
UPDATED: 8:53 am EST March 1, 2006

JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- Jersey City police on Tuesday night were investigating the death of one of their own, a 42-year-old Iraq War veteran whose body was found inside his Glenwood Avenue apartment.

The officer, whose name was not disclosed pending family notification, had been complaining for at least five days of not feeling well, according to police Sgt. Edgar Martinez.

<SNIP>

Because he had only returned from Iraq in November and his illness appeared to be a viral infection, a hazardous materials unit was sent in for further investigation and the officers who found the body were put through a decontamination process, Martinez said.

<SNIP>

[stop the bleeding]

1. this seems interesting - benburch do you have a source??

[benburch]

3. Ooops! Fixed. nt

[stop the bleeding]

4. thank you - do we know if this is standard procedure? That is

to send in a HAZMAT team for a possible "viral infection"?

[benburch]

5. No. But I found it a bit alarming! nt

[Cooley Hurd]

2. DU?

:shrug:

I'd love to see the stats on how many Iraq War vets are suffering from symptoms associated with the prolonged exposure of depleted uranium...

[mymomwasright]

6. Something about the syndrome from I posted yesterday

http://www.freemarketnews.com/WorldNews.asp?nid=8018

[Dhalgren]

7. Yeah, but you wouldn't need a hazmat team for that.

What could the authorities be suspicious of? Any ideas about what they could be afraid of here? Anyone?

[patdem]

8. Bird flu? They had reports of bird flu in Iraq??

I am not sure. Are locals ready for a bird flu outbreak?

[benburch]

9. Argh. I don' want to think THAT at all! nt

[bettyellen]

12. he'd have to be a bird to infect a person

it hasn't mutated to human to human transmission. you have to handle birds to get it.

[FearofFutility]

16. It hasn't yet, but who knows when that will be. Maybe they're

just being extra cautious.

[bettyellen]

19. he's practically in NYC is why they are being cautious-

JC, NJ is closer to midtown than the bronx, and much of queens or brooklyn.
that's a big part of it, i'm sure.

[FearofFutility]

15. That is exactly what I thought n/t

[Dhalgren]

10. Maybe this officer told his department more than they are telling

us. Maybe he told them what he thought might be wrong with him and so they are taking the appropriate precautions? This doesn't feel right - not standard procedures unless you know or suspect something specific...

[stop the bleeding]

11. yep this whole thing stinks - I wish we could find out more

[Nikki Stone 1]

13. I agree with you

Any updates would be welcome.

[bettyellen]

14. probably because it is so dense and urban there, it's as close to manhatt

manhattan as brklyn or queens. and very densely populated.
i'm sure that's why they are being extra careful.

[genie_weenie]

17. sigh...

Another death from this war. Remember this will probably not be counted by the DoD. Another life, another family destroyed...

All my sympathy to his bereaved family

[FlaGranny]

18. I'm not sure what

kind of viral infection that poor man had, but any viral infection that is fatal is a dangerous viral infection to spread about. He must have been too sick to reach for a phone and call for help.

[NYC]

20. The decontamination concerns me.

How often is that done?

[free4now]

22. Living here in NJ

I can tell you first hand there are nasty viruses out there this yr. I myself have one. As most our age, thought id get over it and kept going and ended up last week with pneumonia. (you would never had known it I looked fine) Its probably just one of these viruses. GO to an Er you'll see people lined up with it. THe hospital was full or I would have had to stay, they gave me an IV bag full of antibiotic and still it didn't kill it. I'm on my second round of meds now.:eyes:

[NYC]

24. I haven't noticed anything in New York.

Maybe it's not going around here.

Edit: I hope you feel better soon.

[Uncle Roy]

21. "Because he had only returned from Iraq in November"

Only? Say he came back in mid-November, and started to feel sick in mid-February. ("had been complaining for at least five days of not feeling well"). That's still 3 months before symptoms appeared, assuming he acquired his illness in Iraq on the very last day he was there. That seems like a pretty long time to me. His illness, whatever it was, might have had nothing to do with Iraq.

And the fact that it "appeared to be a viral infection" doesn't really tell us much either. Lots of non-viral diseases start out with "vague flu-like symptoms".

As usual, the article doesn't really give us enough information to come to any kind of conclusion. It's tempting to speculate, of course, and I enjoy that exercise as much as the next guy, but right now it's safe to say that this poor man's death could have been caused by just about anything.

[HuffleClaw]

23. " Because he had only returned from Iraq in November...

erm, three/four months ago? i fail to see what that has to do with it, unless there's some dread disease that you can contract, then get sick from 100 days later. seems a strange tale to me.

"Kevin Jones returned to Jersey City in November after serving 10 months in Iraq with a New Jersey Army National Guard aviation unit."

http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/index.ssf?/base/news-1/114129486341820.xml&coll=3


"The 42-year-old Jones, a track and gymnastics athlete when he attended Snyder High School, was found dead in his Glenwood Avenue apartment Tuesday night. Officials still haven't determined why he died."

http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/index.ssf?/base/news-1/114129497741820.xml&coll=3