2 public safety officers who died from COVID attended same training course

Alexandra Koch, Aiken Standard, S.C.
·2 min read

Aug. 31—Two public safety officers have died following a joint fire training course in the beginning of August.

Aiken Public Safety Officer Kevin Simmons and North Augusta Public Safety Officer Dustin Michael Beasley each died after contracting COVID-19.

On Aug. 12, the Aiken Standard reported multiple officers tested positive for COVID-19 during a multi-week joint fire training course hosted by the Aiken Department of Public Safety.

North Augusta Public Safety officers participated in the training along with Aiken Public Safety officers. Simmons and Beasley both attended the course, Tim Thornton with North Augusta Public Safety confirmed Tuesday.

It is unclear how many officers from each agency participated in the course and how many contracted COVID-19.

Thornton previously said he would not release the number of officers participating in the training course that contracted COVID-19 "because it's going to look like it all came from the training exercise, and we can't pinpoint if that's where it came from or not," he said.

Lt. Jennifer Hayes from ADPS said "masks and vaccines are not required but encouraged" at the facility.

"We continue to work with our city nurse to monitor the latest guidance from the CDC and other applicable guidance in order to update policies to ensure the safety of our staff and citizens," Hayes said.

Following Beasley's death Monday, ADPS said they "have no plans to discontinue joint training in the future."

Simmons died Aug. 15, and Beasley died Aug. 30.

Simmons, 43, began his career with the Aiken Department of Public Safety on May 10, 2021 as a public safety officer in training.

Beasley, 30, started his career at the Barnwell Sheriff's Office and served in the Williston Police Department and the South Carolina Highway Patrol before starting with NADPS in December 2020.