An NYPD officer and mother has died after a surgical complication at a private clinic in the Dominican Republic.
According to The New York Post, 31-year-old Rebecca De Paula, who was assigned to the 46th Precinct in the Bronx died in the early hours of Sunday (August 2) at Santo Domingo clinic Centro de Cirugía Plástica y Especialidades. Paula had traveled to the island roughly one week earlier to have breast implants removed, citing health concerns about her implants. A bacterial infection was contracted following the procedure, and De Paula was rushed back to the clinic before her death.
Along with three children, the late police officer leaves behind a husband. While working on the police force, where she spent two years, De Paula also served as a pastor.
De Paula’s mother rushed to the clinic, only to learn upon her arrival that her daughter had died, although medical professionals did not initially notify her.
"They didn't tell me, 'She's dead.' They told me she was in a serious condition. My brother rushed me there, I went upstairs and I saw the empty bed. Something was wrong, I thought. I said 'Where is my daughter?' And my son told me, 'Mommy, she's with God.' That was the only thing he said to me," De Paula's mother recounted.
Dominican authorities have opened an investigation into De Paula’s death, but a formal cause of death has not yet been confirmed. Her family has since demanded that local authorities determine whether malpractice or negligence occurred during the procedure.
De Paula served the 46th Precinct in the Bronx and was named its Officer of the Month for March for outstanding police work and dedication to the community.
“Horrible news. You was such a beautiful soul. You would say god bless you instead of hi. You had so many good questions,” wrote retired NYPD instructor David Marmol, who trained De Paula, in an Instagram tribute.
De Paula's death comes less than a year after 40-year-old NYPD detective Alicia Stone died in October 2025, roughly a week after undergoing liposuction and a butt lift in Cali, Colombia. Stone was found unresponsive in her hotel room and her cause of death was listed as unspecified cardiac arrest.
