The Arnold Police Department is missing two officers from its rotation after one of them tested positive for COVID-19, Chief Bob Shockey said.
He said the other officer is related to the one who tested positive and has been quarantined, too.
The Arnold Police Department found out Sept. 3 about the officer who tested positive for the virus, after 63 department employees, including the city’s 55 officers, were tested on Sept. 1. The department is still waiting on 62 other results from the testing, Shockey said.
He said the department employees are tested every three to four weeks.
Shockey said the officer who tested positive is asymptomatic, and it is not known how the officer contracted the virus.
Shockey said the officer had not been on duty for more than a week before he got the positive test result. Shockey also said since April, officers have been scheduled to work 14 days and then take 14 days off in an effort to limit the spread of the virus at the Police Department. The officer who tested positive was completing his 14-day off cycle when he was tested.
“It goes to show that the every three- to four-week testing has worked out for us,” Shockey said. “He was due to come back to work (Sept. 4). He could have infected a whole crew. With him being out on the quarantine schedule, it worked out perfectly.
“It is a shame he got it. But we have been aggressive since April with scheduling and testing. The (City Council) and mayor (Ron Counts) have been proactive with the Police Department. It has helped us out keeping the streets covered.”
This is the second time an Arnold Police employee has tested positive for COVID-19. In July, a dispatcher tested positive and has since returned to work, Shockey said.
The chief also said at least three other officers have been put in quarantine since mid-March, after they came into contact with someone who had tested positive for the virus. None of those officers tested positive, Shockey said.
“We have been strict,” Shockey said. “If you come in contact with anyone who has tested positive, you are out.”
Shockey said anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 or has come into contact with someone who has been infected by the virus typically is out for 14 days. He said employees are only allowed to return to work after they receive a negative test result.
Shockey said officers are required to wear masks whenever they interact with the public, and all police employees must wear masks while in the Police Station.
The chief also said officers are being told not to dine in restaurants and instead take their meals to go, and that officers are doing roll call and getting their assignments on the Police Station parking lot, instead of inside the building.
Shockey said the department vehicles are sanitized with a special spray on a regular basis, and the vehicles are equipped with disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer, which also are available throughout the Police Station.
Arnold Police officers also have been provided personal protection equipment.
“It is definitely something to take seriously,” Shockey said. “You can’t stop your life, but we are trying to take every precaution we can take to keep officers healthy. We have an important job to do, and if I’m down manpower, that job does not get done as well as it usually gets done. I’m a firm believer that everyone has a life to live but use precautions. When you are in a crowd and can’t distance, wear a mask. I do.”
