Nine St. Joseph County Police Officers quarantined on March 26 have been released from quarantine and back to active duty.
The Officers were quarantined after coming in contact with an arrest subject whom showed symptoms at the time of booking and was then tested for COVID-19. The COVID-19 test result for the arrest subject returned negative for the corona virus.
During their quarantine period none of the nine officers experienced any symptoms of the virus.
The decision to quarantine was made by the department out of caution to the officers, their families, and our other officers. Three of the nine are County Police Patrol officers that were involved in a physical, hands on arrest of the subject last Monday night. The remaining six officers entered the subject’s residence to execute a search warrant of the residence and the subject’s bedroom following a call back to the subject’s residence last Wednesday.
Sheriff Bill Redman stated “I want to extend my gratitude to the families of these officers. I know this has been an uncertain and unnerving time for these officers and their families. I am grateful for the patience shown and the sacrifice these families make to our department and our community, thank you all.”
Department Attorney Troy Warner explains, “we have been working around the clock monitoring our employees and our jail inmates. Sheriff and our team are working closely with medical staff and County Human Resources. The department is following all medical and CDC guidance to limit the potential exposure of our employees and ensure the safety of them and their families.”
Warner emphasizes “our Police and Jail Officers are the definition of ‘essential,’ they cannot work from home. The department leadership is working hard to ensure the all our employees can continue to do their jobs during throughout this public health crisis. We cannot have a whole shift potentially exposed and quarantined because we failed to be cautious.”
Redman further explains, “we’ve also been monitoring those newly arrested individuals brought to our jail, as well as the inmates who’ve already been here either awaiting trial or serving a sentence. We have limited the number of people entering the secured areas of the jail and just recently have begun conducting COVID protocol on all people that enter the secured area of the jail, including jail employees, police officers, and essential outside contractors.”
Back on March 13, the St. Joseph County Jail first began a COVID protocol process for all arrestees being booking into the jail, including a check of the arrestee temperature and other symptoms. Any arrestee with a temperature above the CDC guideline or with other symptoms is moved to jail medical isolation unit to be tested for COVID-19 and monitored following their jail booking. The County Police are also notifying the arresting law enforcement agency that the arrestee was medically isolated and tested for possible COVID-19. The jail medical staff are now checking everyone that enters the secured area of the jail, including arresting officers, outside essential contractors, and all jail employees.
As of Saturday, April 4, 19 arrestees have been isolated in jail medical and tested. Fourteen of those test results have returned, all negative. Additionally, any inmate already in the jail pods who develop a temperature, or two symptoms is also moved to jail medical isolation unit and tested. Also, two inmates from the pods has been moved to medical isolation, both have tested negative for the virus.
