A sheriff’s deputy in Fairfax County has died of COVID-19 as the county jail experiences an outbreak of the coronavirus.

“With profound sadness, we mourn the loss of Deputy Sheriff Sergeant Frederick ‘Butch’ Cameron who died in the line of duty today due to COVID-19,” the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday.

Cameron, 51, left behind a wife and two children, according to the Washington Post. He was a 16-year veteran of the force, said Fairfax County Sheriff’s spokesperson Andrea Ceisler.

Thirteen inmates in the county jail and 19 sheriff’s office employees have tested positive for the virus, according to Ceisler, despite several precautions that have been taken. Those include quarantining new inmates for 14 days on arrival, restricting the movements of inmates, requiring all staff and contractors to take their temperatures, and daily screenings for other symptoms.

In a post about Cameron’s death, Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid wrote Wednesday, “Sergeant Butch Cameron died from complications as the result of contracting COVID-19 while on duty at the Fairfax County Judicial Center.”

Ceisler said in January the jail had an average of 563 inmates, and she said each had their own cell. “Now the population is low so it’s easier to do that,” she said. “We have space in the jail to spread people out.”

The inmates share common areas and bathrooms, Ceisler said.

Dawn Butorac, the public defender for Fairfax County, said the outbreak was predictable.

“It doesn’t surprise me that there was a major outbreak as I and others in my office routinely see deputies not wearing a mask,” she wrote in an email to DCist/WAMU. “New inmates are quarantined for 14 days upon arrival. Therefore, it seems incredibly unlikely that an inmate would have been the cause of the outbreak. Deputies are leaving the jail every day, making them more susceptible to contracting COVID. If they refuse to follow the rules by not wearing a mask, they must be the source of the outbreak.”

The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to a request for comment about these allegations.

After this story was initially published, Kincaid pushed against Butorac’s comments, calling them “insensitive and reckless statements.” She wrote on Facebook: “I’m proud of the men and women of my agency and the steps they have taken to navigate this pandemic (steps recognized by our Health Department).”

The Fairfax County Department of Health did not immediately reply to questions about the outbreak.

John W. Jones, the executive director of the Virginia Sheriffs’ Association, commended Kincaid for her “determined advocacy to protect those working and living in the Fairfax Detention Center.” He wrote that jails are not designed for social distancing, many have poor ventilation, and that Kincaid had pushed for early vaccines for her staff to promote public safety.

A spokesperson for the Fairfax Deputy Sheriffs Union did not offer further comment on Cameron’s death.

This story has been updated to include public comment from Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid indicating that Cameron contracted COVID while on duty at the jail and reacting to allegations presented by the public defender. The story also includes public comment from the Virginia Sheriffs’ Association.