Policing in a pandemic: Local departments find ways to stay safe, serve public

Whether conducting a traffic stop or responding to a disturbance, law enforcement officers must be prepared to protect themselves.

And as the coronavirus pandemic has reached their communities, local law enforcement officers have learned to take measures to protect themselves against the virus while continuing to serve the public.

Hancock County Sheriff Ralph Fletcher said his department has some new orders for deputies when they go out on a call.

"They are to stay 10 or more feet away." he said. "If they need to answer a call at a home, dispatch has been advised to ask pertinent questions regarding any illnesses within the home. Officers have been instructed to, as best we can, to conduct business with the complainant on the porch or outside.

"We're trying to keep them from entering the homes as we had done normally in the past. We're answering a lot of calls by phone."

Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla said his department is trying to handle as many calls over the phone as possible.

"We're still responding," he said. "We're trying to limit some. If we can handle it over the phone, we are trying to do it that way. If someone calls and says someone threw a brick through my window, we can take that over the phone. We're trying to deal with as much over the phone as we can and that has been working out pretty good."

When an officer does go out, they are taking precautions while doing so.

"They have their mask on and gloves on," Abdalla said. "They have their sanitizer with them. If they have to put someone in the back of the car, they have disinfectant to spray the back seat once they bring them to the county jail. They take all the safety precautions. We're trying to keep everyone safe while serving the public."

Brooke County Sheriff Larry Palmer said, "We're taking precautionary measures."

He said his deputies may wear masks and gloves, depending on the nature of a call, and a lot of sanitizing is being done in the department's offices and the officers' cruisers.

Palmer noted Lyle's Auto of Follansbee has offered to sanitize police vehicles for local departments.

The Brooke County Commission has ordered the courthouse, where the sheriff's department is located, to be closed to the public until further notice and encouraged those with county business encouraged to do it by phone, mail or the Internet.

Toronto Police Chief Randy Henry said his department and others received masks and gloves early on through the efforts of the Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency.

He said more recently the Toronto department was among law enforcement agencies throughout the state to receive face shields produced and donated by Alene Candles of New Albany, Ohio.

"Everyone who has requested them got them," Henry said of the shields, which were distributed by the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Mingo Junction Police Chief Joe Sagun said when the shutdown was ordered, "at first everyone was a little nervous about it."

"But the citizens have responded to everything we're doing, they understand," he said. "They've been very cooperative with us. If we come up to them with a mask, they understand why -- that it's for our safety and their safety."

Sagun said he told his officers if they have to respond to a call in person, respond, "but ask basic questions, pretty much what the CDC advises asking. We have masks and gowns in the cars, and we gave each officer glasses to wear."

Steubenville Police Chief Bill McCafferty said it's been business as usual for his officers, though they've been issued face masks, hand cleaner and wipes.

"To get into the police station, everyone is screened," he added. "We're really limiting the number of people who come in contact (with city employees)."

When out on calls, "we always keep our distance, maintain that distance," McCafferty said.

"Some calls are being screened as to minor stuff that we really don't need to respond in person to… but it's pretty much the same as usual for us."

Area law enforcement leaders were asked how crime rates have been affected by state orders for residents to remain home as much as possible and prohibiting the operation of businesses deemed non-essential.

Palmer said, "The first couple of weeks it was OK. Now we're starting to see more domestics and overdose calls. That's starting to pick up a little bit."

He said with unemployment comes financial difficulties and stress and that can lead to drug and alcohol abuse and domestic disputes.

Weirton Police Chief Rob Alexander said, "We're seeing some increases in domestics."

State-ordered school closings also have resulted in teens and other youth being home also, and Alexander said there's also been a rise in incidents involving juveniles.

He believes much of that increase can be attributed to the stress for residents not having an opportunity to leave their homes.

Another area of concern in Weirton is a reported increase in mass littering in some areas, particularly Greenbrier Road.

The issue arises at a time when city officials have postponed the annual spring cleanup.

"We are spending thousands cleaning up all the stuff people are dumping," Alexander said. "It makes the community look bad, and all of us look bad."

Public Works Director Rod Rosnick confirmed the large amount of dumping experienced recently, saying the cleanup of one site this past week cost the city approximately $2,000.

Alexander said residents caught dumping in such a way will be arrested and be made to pay fines and restitutions.

Henry said, "The family fights, disturbances are up. Everything else, including traffic violations, are down."

He said Toronto officers responding to disturbances normally don't encounter people who have been physically harmed.

"Usually the calls are from people who hear their neighbors yelling because so many people are home," Henry said.

But he noted police can never take an intense situation lightly.

"We usually try to convince them to separate for the night," Henry said, while acknowledging that may be more difficult at this time.

Sagun said call volumes have been down, though they've had more domestic disturbances than usual.

"We've had eight more domestics since the lockdown started," he said. "Our average is only three or four a month, so we are seeing more domestic calls."

Abdalla said while his department is seeing domestic calls, the number of them is not necessarily out of the ordinary.

"We've had some domestics," Abdalla said. "I wouldn't say they are going up, but we've had some. Some of them are ones we've dealt with in the past. There for a while we had three or four of them in one week."

Fletcher said the types of calls have not changed much during the pandemic.

"It's pretty much the same," he said. "We've had a few cases we haven't had in a while, but nothing out of the ordinary. I haven't seen a direct jump in any of the calls, it's basically the same type we've been responding to that I would consider normal calls."

Fletcher said despite some areas reporting more domestic calls, there has not been much of an uptick within the county.

"We've seen some domestic calls, but I can't say that it's increasing," he said.

"Domestic calls are something that has always there. I expect that we could see a jump, but at this point there hasn't been any noticeable increase with that type of call. It's basically within the same parameters and numbers that we normally deal with."

Call volume as a whole is down, Fletcher said.

"I think it's slowed down as far as call volume," he said, adding, "That is due to people staying at home, taking care of their family and their children."

McCafferty said his officers haven't seen anything out of the ordinary, crime-wise.

"Surprisingly, we haven't seen a steep increase in domestic violence, which is kind of surprising," he said.

Noting other states are starting to relax restrictions that have kept people home over the past month, "so we're going to wait and see how it plays out (for them)," McCafferty said.

"Other states are being a lot more liberal about opening things up than we are. We'll have to see how things unfold there."