The Guilford County Sheriff’s Department – along with many others – got some terrible news this weekend.
Master Corp. Deputy Sheriff Norman Daye passed away on Saturday, Dec. 12 after being treated for coronavirus.
The death comes at a time when Guilford County health officials and other county leaders are expressing extreme concern about the spread of the virus.
Daye, who was a 16-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department, died in his home in eastern Guilford County on Saturday.
He had a long career in law enforcement after beginning that career with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
In a Sunday press release announcing his death, Sheriff’s Department officials described Daye as “a dedicated and loyal Lawman who had a passion to serve his community.”
Department officials noted that Daye had served in the US Marine Corps and added that he “defined public service and patriotism.”
The release went on to state, “He was well respected among his peers and the law enforcement profession.”
Daye had been treated for Covid-19 at a local hospital before returning home.
The final arrangements for Daye were still pending on Sunday when the department announced his death.
The Sheriff’s Department has been struggling all year to battle the virus and simultaneously provide security to the county. Due to the nature of the work, officers are at a high risk for infection despite new practices regarding traffic stops and added precautions in the handling of suspects and inmates.
In some parts of the country, jails and prisons have become hot beds for coronavirus. However, the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department has had a good deal of success so far keeping the county’s jails from an outbreak.
God bless you, Master Corp. Deputy Sheriff Norman Daye, and thank you for your service to Guilford County. May your family feel the comfort we are all sending their way.
Is this story in place of the weekly statistical brilliance of John Hammer exclaiming how no one is really sick with COVID? Thanks! Been missing the weekly funnies.
Hey Juan, your comment is out of place and out of touch. No serious person denies that the virus brings death, and every death is a loss for the family of the departed. We can argue about the effectiveness of gvmt restrictions and the excessive fear-mongering of other media outlets elsewhere, but this article was dedicated to respecting a fallen servant to our community and with that said, may he rest in peace.
So why’s this hombre get a big story but the 50+ others from Greensboro that died last week don’t?
The Rhino consistently denies COVID is a problem but then suddenly acknowledge it when it’s a police officer. Seems like just another dead guy to me. One of over 300,000.
Loss is a part of life. Thoughts and prayers won’t change that.
I’m not sure how sincere your question is but there are very reasonable answers.
First, the rhino probably doesn’t have the time or the reader/customer interest to report on every single death in guilford county each day.
That said, their reporting seems to focus on local gvmt and local politics. Thus, in the last year they have written articles about the passing of, in no particular order, the above mentioned deputy, 2 different inmates in the county jail, the former chairman of guilford county GOP, the first black councilwoman in Greensboro, and the former guilford county deputy chairperson. As you can see, reporting on this death is consistent with past reporting by the Rhino. If it bothers you that much, you should try to loosen up.
I’d be curious to find anything published here that “denies covid is a problem”. What they take issue with, and also many readers including myself, is the way the problem of covid has been overhyped and used to arbitrarily extend government overreach in ways that will not actually solve any covid problems. The list is huge and the history books will bear it out.
Lastly, thoughts and prayers do not intend to CHANGE the reality of loss, but to help the living cope with it –while paying respects to the departed. Both your comments fail to reflect this which is why I bothered typing a reply. But I agree that loss is part of life, which is why some of this covid hysteria is so silly.
John Hammer literally wrote a “story” every single week until about 2-3 weeks ago, on Mondays, mansplaining how the coronavirus numbers are misleading because there are only so many currently active cases. If that isn’t denying that Covid is a problem, then what is?
You are right, it is very consistent with their previous reporting, that doesn’t make it of good or interesting quality for all of their readers.
See the comment below, the comment explaining that “fatalities tend to be higher among African Americans because their dark skin…”
Also to note, this story is a story by a publication, not an obituary or something written by/for the family of the victim. This isn’t by any means the most appropriate place to offer condolences if you actually care about this man or his family.
Here are some samples of articles:
https://www.rhinotimes.com/news/covid-19-numbers-quoted-by-cooper-are-misleading/
In this story, John picks apart Cooper saying we have 339K cases, when it is completely obvious that he meant we’ve had that many cases. He then downplays the severity of this by stating his estimate (his understanding of math is really really bad, just FYI) that only about 40,000 in the state currently have COVID.
https://www.rhinotimes.com/news/number-of-active-cases-of-covid-in-state-shows-increase/
Here, John points at that there was an increase since his previous stellar reporting but still downplays the significance of deaths. A couple quotes to support this point:
“[sic] The number of people in North Carolina who currently have active cases of COVID-19 is 18,225 in a state with a population of 10.5 million.” Clearly pointing to the much larger population of the state to make it seem like 18,000 isn’t that much.
“One reason more people are testing positive is that more people are being tested.” This is fundamentally misleading because it doesn’t account for changes in the percentage of positive changes (which had increased with increased testing). Also, through that same logic, why not extrapolate the data and say “if we test everyone, then how many would be likely positive?” It sure would have been a lot more than the 18,000 he quotes (it would be closer to 500,000).
“The majority of deaths, 58 percent, remains in the over-75 age group. In the under-18 category there has still only been one death in the entire state during the eight months of the pandemic, and the total number of deaths of those under 25 remains at five. The total number of deaths in the state for those under the age of 50 is 194.” The use of the term “only” downplays that person’s life. There have also *only* been two deaths due to COVID-19 in the Guilford Sherriff’s department, so by that measure the police are basically immune to the disease, John means, it is ONLY 2 deaths.
https://www.rhinotimes.com/news/number-of-active-cases-of-covid-19-in-nc-below-15000/
This article, titled “Number of active cases of Covid-19 in NC below 15,000” certainly seems to suggest that 15,000 isn’t a big enough number to worry.
This kind of biased media is a breeding ground for people to think they are above the man-made laws of this country because of some weird concept that covering a hole on your body for the health and safety of others somehow restricts their own ability to live. At the end of the day, anti-maskers simply don’t “want” to abide by these simple rules. You know what happens when you don’t abide by traffic laws, you might kill yourself or someone else.
Loss is a part of life. Preventable loss shouldn’t be. Maybe Deputy Daye would still be around if the Rhino told its readers how serious this disease was. Thoughts and prayers though. Thought. And. Prayers.
I have been reading that fatalities tend to be higher among African Americans because their dark skin gives so much protection from the sun; too much for their own good in this case. We need lots of vitamin D for the proper functioning of our immune systems. Vitamin D absorption is lessened as we age, with dark-skinned peoples, and people with various chronic diseases. The daily “solar spraying” to prevent us from receiving sunlight we need in the name of “global warming” also reduces our vitamin D. vitamin D is a hormone that affects many systems in our bodies. From what I understand it takes a while to build up in our systems. People also absorb less vitamin D in the winter.
Probably most people, and especially black people, should be taking vitamin D3 now to help build their immune system, along with plenty of C and the most easily absorbed type of zinc they can find UNLESS they have certain medical conditions, such as kidney disorders, that make supplementation dangerous for them
I am sorry this young man was cut down in the prime of his life. My condolences to his family, friends, and associates in the Sheriff’s Dept.
Sorry to hear this. Probably will never know for sure, but given his frequent interaction with the public could this be considered in the line of duty?
He was treated or was being treated? If he was in that bad of shape,would they send him home? RIP Officer Daye
I am so sorry to learn of Deputy Daye’s passing!! His passing is a big loss to our community! I thank him for his military service and his service to Guilford Co.!
I send his family Christian love and prayers!