Bernard Waddell Sr.

Photograph of Bernard courtesy of Derrik James, obtained from northjersey.com. 

Bernard T. Waddell Sr. was a devoted man. He was loving both as a husband to his wife and as a father to his three children, and he was a dedicated officer at the Hudson County corrections facility. After 28 years at the facility, Bernard was contemplating retirement but decided to wait until after one of his sons got married later in the year. A few more months was no big deal. After all, as Derrik James, president of the union representing Hudson County corrections officers, later remembered to northjersey.com, Bernard had always “worked a lot of overtime.” 

The first law enforcement officer in New Jersey to die from the coronavirus pandemic, Bernard passed away from complications of COVID-19 on April 1, 2020 at 56 years old. With multiple incarcerated people testing positive at Hudson and rising cases at the nearby Bergen and Essex county jails, he is unlikely to be the last. 

Bernard was born on January 22, 1964. He went to a Jersey City public school before attending and graduating from New Jersey City University. He then came to work at the Hudson County facility where he would spend much of the next three decades. Derrik James trained Bernard in his early days there, and, from the beginning, it was clear to him that Bernard was “a great guy and a hard worker.” 

Ron Edwards, Hudson County’s director of corrections, echoes this characterization, recalling that Bernard “always had a smile and always had a kind word.” Bernard was a “true gentleman” and a “good officer,” but more importantly, he was “an even better man.” 

This decency and generosity shone through in Bernard’s activities outside of his work as well. He spent much of his spare time helping at charity events in his hometown of Jersey City. Anthony Smith, another corrections officer, was trained by Bernard and saw him as a mentor. Bernard later helped Anthony found a nonprofit called Blacks in Law Enforcement Servicing the Community. Anthony remembers sitting “with [Bernard] many times… when I first started the organization he was one of the people that gave me advice on how to go about it.” Bernard continued to devote time as a volunteer for the organization, which runs backpack drives for children and serves food to the homeless. Bernard was also involved in community service through the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement. 

In addition to his charity work, Bernard enjoyed fishing, cruising, and traveling. Most of all, he cherished time spent with family and friends. 

We mourn the loss of a beloved husband, father, and friend, Bernard Waddell Sr.. 

This memorial was written by MOL team member Gabriel Colburn with information from reporting by Monsy Alvarado of northjersey.com, John Heinis of Hudson County View, and The Star Ledger.