Sudden death of Tucson officer shock to family, friends

November 17, 2011
Tammy Vo, TUCSON (KGUN9-TV)

Officer Henry Fung seemed like a perfectly healthy 43-year-old Tucson officer until he collapsed on Tuesday afternoon while visiting his mother at an assisted living facility. He passed away on Wednesday.

"I'm very surprised. He does Taekwondo, kickboxing and works out all the time. It's shocking that he would suffer from a massive heart attack" said his brother John. "He loved his life, especially his wife, her three girls and his son Brandon who is five months old. He also loved being a police officer".

Officer Fung began his career with Tucson Police as a crime scene specialist in 2005. From there, he became a sworn officer working the downtown division.

On Fung's Facebook page on Monday, he wrote about being tased for police training that day and how intense the experience was. 9 On Your Side wanted to know if his death is connected to the taser training?

"In subsequent conversations we had with his attending physicians and cardiologists, that had no bearing on what the eventual outcome was" said Assistant Police Chief, Brett Kline. The Pima County Medical Examiner's Office also confirms that the taser incident has no relation to Fung's death and that Fung may have suffered from some sort of heart condition which led to the attack.

Sgt. John Strader from the Tucson Police Officer's Association told KGUN 9 "He's someone who cared a great deal about his co-workers and his community. Everyone agrees that Officer Fung was always smiling".

The officer's brother says that Henry Fung loved being a father, especially to his son who was born this past Father's Day. "It's so sad that he won't get to see his father or grow up with him".

What will John Fung tell his nephew about his father? "That he was a loving family man, courageous and accomplished his goals by doing what he wanted to do".

Friends have set up a bank account to help the Fung family. If you would like to donate, the account is at Wells Fargo Bank under the name: Blossom Fung.