Lake Highlands High School’s beloved resource officer dies of COVID-19

A Dallas police officer who long served as a campus officer at a high school died of COVID-19 complications.

Officer Christopher Gibson was a fixture at Lake Highlands High School, which is in Dallas but in Richardson ISD. 

His death was a shocking and heartbreaking loss for the many people he had an impact on. He had only been in the hospital for one day.

"He was a monument at Lake Highlands High School. I've had several educators, teachers and principals reach out to me how much they cared about him and how much the kids and students liked him," said Mike Mata, the president of the Dallas Police Association. 

Officer Gibson is the seventh person who worked for the Dallas Police Department to die of COVID-19.

The Dallas police and fire departments have both been hit hard by the virus.

Officer Christopher Gibson

"They are here every day putting their lives at risk for what they normally would do and in addition to that exposing themselves to what’s there," said Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia. 

Chief Garcia said the department is trying to maintain protocols and be safe.

"We are seeing a spike in numbers. We are keeping an eye on and it and we are trying to be very, very careful," he said.

Gibson, who work for DPD for 24 years, is survived by his wife and two daughters.

His funeral will be held Monday morning.

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