DETROIT (WXYZ) — During a news conference to provide COVID-19 updates in Michigan, Governor Gretchen Whitmer gave an emotional tribute following the passing of Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon.
Napoleon passed away Thursday night after a 3-week battle with the coronavirus.
RELATED: Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon dies at age 65 after battle with COVID-19
Gov. Whitmer called Napoleon her "dear friend" and recalled their conversations - including calls and texts where Napoleon contacted Whitmer to encourage her on the handling of the outbreak in Michigan.
"Benny was a special person. We have lost too many people to this horrendous virus," Whitmer said.
She talked about Benny's brother who suffered from COVID-19 last spring and was hospitalized for 70 days. The family was shaken by that and Benny took the virus very seriously.
"He was very careful and he followed the protocols."
RELATED: State, local leaders react to the passing of Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon
Governor Whitmer struggled to fight back emotions when speaking about Napoleon's passing.
"In a matter of three weeks, he went from testing positive to being hospitalized to being put on a ventilator and passing away... and my heart hurts."
Additional Coronavirus information and resources:
View a global coronavirus tracker with data from Johns Hopkins University.
See complete coverage on our Coronavirus Continuing Coverage page.
Visit our The Rebound Detroit, a place where we are working to help people impacted financially from the coronavirus. We have all the information on everything available to help you through this crisis and how to access it.