By C1 Staff
HACKENSACK, NJ — A 15-year veteran of the New Jersey Department of Corrections and a member of the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office collapsed at a charity baseball game Wednesday and later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
The North Jersey reports that Lt. Brian Beutel, 47, was playing basketball with other officers in an annual “Battle of the Blue” fundraising event for Tomorrows Children’s Fund when he collapsed around 7 p.m.
Bystanders initially thought he was suffering from dehydration and shocked him with a defibrillator before taking him to the hospital.
The cause of death was not immediately available.
Bergen was described as a good guy, well respected by his superiors and officers below him. He was known as a gregarious commander who was street smart with a good sense of humor.
He leaves behind a wife and five daughters, ages 11 – 19.