A Santa Rosa police detective died Tuesday, March 31, of complications from COVID-19 began her path to a career in law enforcement as a National City police “explorer,” or cadet.

Detective Marylou Armer, 44, had been with the Santa Rosa Police Department, in Sonoma County, for 20 years.

The domestic violence and sexual assault detective was one of the first employees in the department to test positive for COVID-19 and the first police officer in the state to die of the disease, according to the Police Department and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office.