By C1 Staff
NEW YORK — Hundreds of correctional officers were on hand Thursday to say goodbye to one of their own at a funeral attended by Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Assistant Deputy Warden Belinda Nicks, 53, died on duty in an office in the Brooklyn House of Detention on Sept. 1. Her cause of death is being investigated, but family and friends believe it was tied to her diabetes, reports the New York Daily News.
“Belinda was a ray of warmth and kindness,” de Blasio said. “She truly devoted her life to uplifting others – for nearly three decades, selflessly serving as one of New York’s Boldest.”
Nicks joined the Department of Corrections in 1988, and moved up the ranks quickly. She became a captain in 2001, and assistant deputy warden in 2012.
“She was a friend to so many, a confidante, a mentor, because that was her sense of the mission,” de Blasio said. “We know there’s no such thing as a correction officer who has an easy job, but what I heard is when Belinda was around, the job felt easier.”
Corrections Commissioner Joseph Ponte said Nicks tackled “challenging assignments” with her “A game.”
“Belinda was promoted to captain and eventually assistant deputy warden not just because of her considerable experience and skills but because she showed repeatedly that she cared about her fellow officers and inmates housed in the jails where she worked,” Ponte said.
Nicks had planned to retire in the near future, and was going to raise her niece after three decades working in the DOC. Her body was found in an office after she did not respond to a routine radio call during an evening shift.