Weather: Floyd sheriff deputizes police
♦ The other local law enforcement agencies will help enforce the coronavirus restrictions.
Sheriff Tim Burkhalter deputized Rome and Floyd County police officers on Monday so that they can help enforce a statewide shelter in place order.
The officers being deputized are the ones who were sworn in both departments after he was re-elected four years ago. By doing this, he gave these officers the same powers as sheriff’s deputies.
Rome Assistant Police Chief Debbie Burnett said they had 21 officers deputized. FCPD Sgt. Chris Fincher said they had about 40 officers deputized.
The deputizing took place outside, with the officers standing six feet apart and following social distancing guidelines to halt the coronavirus.
Gov. Brian Kemp issued a new public health emergency order Friday deputizing Georgia county sheriffs to shut down any nonessential businesses.
But the order has a lot of gray areas that the sheriff’s office is still trying to figure out, Burkhalter said.
First, they’re trying to find out exactly what businesses are essential and which ones are not essential. The sheriff’s office has received many calls from residents asking about this and, at this point, they don’t have a definite answer.
“There’s so much to weed out,” Burkhalter said.
One of the more confusing things about the order, he said, is what kind of punishment is dealt out to those who keep their businesses open after being warned by the sheriff’s deputies.
They were initially told that after a person has ignored a warning, deputies
would either fine them or arrest them, Burkhalter said. But that’s also a gray area as well.
Right now, the sheriff’s office will first give warnings to business owners who violate the order and tell them to shut the business down.
While the sheriff’s office has received many phone calls from people pointing out businesses that aren’t complying, deputies haven’t seen anyone directly violating the ordinance while out on patrol.
“Just what I’ve seen today, I don’t see a lot of cars on the road, I don’t see many people out anywhere,” Burkhalter
said.
The sheriff said that they follow up with each call they get, but so far, they haven’t found any business in violation of the order.