New York police are making arrests, walking beats and responding to 911 calls without gear to protect them from coronavirus, according to nearly two dozen NYPD officers and scenes witnessed by Reuters. Now the force has more than 800 COVID-19 cases
FILE PHOTO: New York Police Department officers gather outside of the 41st Precinct in the Bronx borough of New York after a shooting there in New York City, U.S., February 9, 2020. REUTERS/Lloyd Mitchell/File Photo
The pandemic has depleted police forces already strained by staffing shortages. Many departments have told officers to limit their interactions with the public and maintain social distancing. Some agencies are re-assigning detectives and administrative staff to help respond to emergencies as more patrol officers get sick, which requires pulling the investigators away from major cases.
“We show up first, to everything, and we are completely unprotected,” said one officer in the 33rd precinct. Masks and other protective or sanitary supplies have often been scarce since the pandemic sent worldwide demand surging, prompting safety concerns from a wide range of workers who interact daily with the public, from first responders to doctors to delivery drivers.
Departments nationwide are struggling to protect their officers - and to operate without those who are getting sick. The Reuters survey asked police agencies how many of their employees tested positive for coronavirus, how many were quarantined, and how the outbreak has impacted their operations. The outbreak is forcing law enforcement agencies nationwide to implement sweeping changes to their policing strategies.
In Dallas, where 34 employees from the police department have been quarantined and two have tested positive, officers are no longer physically responding to calls for certain minor crimes. People are instead being asked to file a report online. In New York City, resentment over a lack of protective gear runs deep, according to interviews with current and former officers. In the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, cops working on the smoldering rubble of the World Trade Center were told the air was safe to breathe. Years later, many developed fatal 9/11-related cancers and illnesses.‘BUSINESS AS USUAL’ FOR CRIMINALS
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