Police adjust protocols to shield against coronavirus
Norwalk police officers responded in protective gear last weekend to a report that a man who had tested positive for COVID-19 was trying to break into a home where he had rented a room but was now being denied entry.
“The party who complained told dispatchers that she had a medical condition that would make her more vulnerable,” to the disease, Lt. Jared Zwickler said.
But when officers arrived, they learned the man had no symptoms, had not tested positive and was upset that the woman had reneged on their living arrangement, police reports of the incident indicate.
“The woman had accepted a deposit, but then didn’t want him to move in because of the circumstances,” Zwickler said.
Officers were able to successfully mitigate the argument with no arrests, according to the reports.
“We have protocols in place” for dealing with people who have potentially been exposed to the virus, Zwickler said. “And we also conduct our own independent investigation.”
Police departments throughout the state are ramping up efforts to deal with routine calls and emergencies while distancing themselves from face-to-face contact with the public as the number of people who have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, continues to swell.
Three state troopers and a state police recruit have tested positive for the disease and some New Haven officers are firefighters are showing symptoms, city officials said. Local departments are taking extreme measures to maintain safety, officials in several towns said. Greenwich police announced last week that officers are shaving their beards and goatees so protective masks will fit properly.
One officer with the Fairfield Police Department was in isolation after dealing with a civilian who was exhibiting symptoms of the virus, according to Chief Christopher Lyddy. But the officer has since returned to work because the person tested negative for COVID-19, Lyddy said.
“We are 100 percent healthy, no officers have been tested and no officers are reporting any symptoms,” Lyddy said.
Like many other departments, Fairfield police have halted all walk-in services such as fingerprinting, records requests and medication disposal, according to a message the chief posted on the department’s website.
“We are generating many reports on the phone and we are continuing to respond to emergencies, but dispatchers are triaging the calls and reporting if people are exhibiting symptoms so our officers can put on protective gear,” Lyddy said.
Officers responding to an inperson complaint are not going inside homes unless it’s an emergency and remaining 6 to 8 feet away, which is the recommended distance to avoid contracting the disease, Lyddy said.
The town is seeing an uptick in shoplifting complaints but people are not being taken into custody, Lyddy said. “We haven’t had a custodial arrest in several days,” he said. “We are only doing that in a situation of violence if an individual poses a risk to someone else or society.”
The department is concerned about the amount of protective gear on hand, but have enough for now, Lyddy said.
Norwalk police union officials had put out a call on Facebook asking for protective gear but they have since received a donation from the Police Benevolent Association, according to Lt. Dan Fitzmaurice, union vice president. “We lucked out,” Fitzmaurice said.
The public has been advised to call the routine department number instead of showing up in the lobby if it’s safe to do so and people who are calling 911 or seeking an officer to come out should report any symptoms to dispatchers, Zwickler said.
Daily roll call has been moved to an outdoor area to give officers more space to practice social distancing and emergency responders are wearing more protective gear to help protect officers and the public, Zwickler said.
Similar precautions are being taken in New Canaan where officers are handling more calls for service by phone, video chat or email, Chief Leon Krolikowski said.
“We are being very careful about who we are dealing with and who we take into custody and we have protections in place,” Krolikowski said.
The department did hold a man on $25,000 bond in a domestic violence incident that involved strangulation, he said. “But for everything else, we’re trying to process them by not taking them into custody,” Krolikowski said.
Officers are also being observant if anyone they are interacting with appears to be exhibiting symptoms, he said.
The department is seeing an increase in medical calls and psychiatric calls, he added.
“Something like this heightens behavioral health issues particularly for folks with existing issues,” Krolikowski said.