NYPD custodian Dennis Dickson was assigned the first floor of headquarters, which includes the memorial wall that lists the names of the officers who died in the line of duty.
With the arrival of the pandemic, Dickson showed his own kind of courage simply by continuing to come to work. His bravery was in that sense akin to that of transit workers and delivery people and cashiers. They do not face the same danger as frontline medical workers, but they do put themselves at markedly more risk than those of us who shelter in place.
Dickson’s labors had an added significance because he worked long hours cleaning and disinfecting any surfaces in his first-floor post that might cause others to become infected with coronavirus. And he did his work with notable dedication.
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“Outstanding man,” his immediate boss, Level 3 Custodian Supervisor Fred Carter, told The Daily Beast. “Upright gentleman. Never says no. Always there for you. There for the team. Goes the extra mile.”
Carter added, “Always pleasant to be around. Always a good person to talk to.”
He had originally come from Guyana and had been on the job since 2006. He had demonstrated his dedication when Hurricane Sandy hit six years later. He worked for 17 days straight cleaning up headquarters. A picture taken in the lobby during that effort shows him smiling proudly in a yellow waterproof suit with reflective stripes.
He had been at it for 14 years when coronavirus hit the city. He was now 62 , approaching the age when the pathogen was proving to be especially dangerous. But he kept coming in. And he worked even harder.
With the memorial wall rising high above him, he gave his all, disinfecting the revolving doors leading into the building and the turnstiles by the security desk, and the counter ringing the desk itself and the railings on the escalators going to the next floor and the buttons in the double banks of elevators servicing the building nicknamed “The Puzzle Palace.” He did not forget the many door knobs and counters and shelves and the bathrooms. And then there was the auditorium, as well as various offices.
At the end of the day’s disinfecting, he had to commute through an infected city on its way to becoming an epicenter. He traveled home to Brooklyn and then back the next morning to headquarters in lower Manhattan.
He was still giving it his all on Sunday. He then fell ill early in the week. He was admitted to Kings County Hospital and on Thursday became the first member of the NYPD to die from COV-19. Police Commissioner Dermot Shea posted a video tribute that proved Dickson’s particular kind of courage and dedication had not gone unappreciated by the department.
“Today, we lost one of our own,” a somber Shea said. “Custodial Assistant Dennis Dickson, a member of the NYPD since 2006.”
Shea noted Dickson’s efforts after Hurricane Sandy.
“Since the coronavirus has struck New York City, he has been keeping the NYPD safe so our officers can keep you safe,” Shea continued. “Today, he passed away from complications of the coronavirus. We have lost a member of the NYPD family.”
On Facebook, Dickson’s wife, Debbie, posted a photo of the two of them in a tender, happy moment.
“This is how I want to remember my husband, never expect u would leave me this soon, u r and will always be my true love until we meet again my baby love,” she wrote.
His mother-in-law, Christine Fernandes, posted, “It’s with profound sadness and deep regret that I announce the death of my son-in-law. Dennis Dickson. AKA Double D Sexy.”
She added, “May his soul rest in peace and rise in glory. Just sleep on.”
On the first floor, Dickson’s heavy-hearted fellow custodians set to disinfecting with added attention wherever he himself had cleaned.
“We had to sanitize everything on his station,” Carter reported. “We need to do what needed to be done. That’s our job. That's what we sign up for.”
On Thursday, the NYPD reported that Dickson was one of 351 members of the department who had been infected by coronavirus. The number reportedly jumped to 512 on Friday.
In the days ahead, the NYPD expects to swear in 100 new custodians, so that every station house will have one for the day shift and one for nights.
And at headquarters, those who walk in past the memorial wall of fallen officers will have cause to think of another kind of hero, one not with a gun and a badge but with a mop and bottle of disinfectant.
“That’s what we do,” Carter said. “That’s what Mr Dickson did.”
