Beloved former Northeastern police officer dies of COVID-19

BOSTON — A former Northeastern University police officer has passed away after being hospitalized with complications from COVID-19.

Officer Conrad Buckley left Northeastern University in 2017 and became a patrol officer for the Clermont Police Department in Florida. But, his former colleagues at the University said he still very much kept up with the Huskies.

“His feet were in Central Florida, but in every respect his heart was still with Northeastern and with the Huskies,” said Northeastern University Police Sgt. John Farrell.

Buckley spent more than a decade on the force in Boston, making a huge impact among the students and staff.

“You could just see, this guy is happy, he enjoys his work and he enjoys talking to us, so people gravitated to him,” said Farrell.

Buckley worked in Boston from 2006-2017. He moved to Florida and became a patrol officer for the Clermont Police Department in 2018. But even down south, he stayed in touch with his team.

“It’s just a big void on our heart, in our hearts. He left but he was always here,” said Farrell.

Clermont Police said Buckley passed away early Tuesday morning. Chief Charles Broadway said Buckley traveled to Boston in March for a family emergency. After returning to Florida and self-quarantining, he developed coronavirus symptoms and was hospitalized.

“He was an outstanding police officer who cared for his fellow officers and the community. He took tremendous pride in being a police officer and carried himself with confidence and integrity. Today, the city of Clermont lost a good cop and a great man," Chief Broadway said.

Faculty and athletics coaches at Northeastern said they are devastated as the loss of Officer Buckley.

“We were all stunned and shocked and it was with heartfelt sadness, because he had a personality that people could gravitate towards and did – he just wasn’t a police officer, he went above and beyond,” said Jim Madigan, Northeastern University men’s hockey coach.

Madigan said Buckley played a big role with student athletes.

“Conrad was really good at teaching life lessons to the young men and young women at Northeastern and was there to help guide them and provide that mentorship,” said Madigan.

Madigan said Buckley acted as the liaison between athletes and public safety. Madigan said Buckley was one of the first faces freshman athletes would see when they arrived on campus. In that role, he was able to connect his two passions, sports and law enforcement. Buckley also worked very closely with the hockey and spoke to freshman students during athletic orientation.

“He was so genuinely interested in our student athletes, not just the hockey players but all our athletes. You knew he cared for our student athletes and his heart was always in the right spot,” said Madigan.

Officers from the Northeastern University Police Department have been communicating with officers in Florida on ways they can honor Officer Conrad Buckley’s memory.

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