'We’re doing something right': Fall River Police Department says COVID-19 precautions are paying off

FALL RIVER – The Fall River Police Department has an enviable record when it comes to the number of employees who have tested positive for the coronavirus.

That’s the opinion of Lt. Jay Huard, one of two public information officers in the department’s Office of Professional Standards.

Huard says just two employees — one police sergeant and one civilian dispatcher — have tested positive for COVID-19 during the past six and half months.

“We’re not perfect, but I’d say we’re doing something right,” he said.

Huard said neither of the two staffers, both of whom have since recovered, contracted the contagion inside the headquarters building on Pleasant Street and that both called in sick once they became symptomatic.

He said there was a span of about five months between the two cases.

Huard says the last time an officer thought he might have coronavirus symptoms was less than two weeks ago. That officer, he said, ended up testing negative for the novel coronavirus.

Huard, a 25-year police veteran, says vigilance in practicing social distancing and wearing masks have been paying off — not to mention the occasional friendly email from Chief Jeffrey Cardoza reminding his staff to stick to the program.

“Sometimes if it gets a little lax the chief sends out an email reminder,” Huard, 46, said. “There have been some verbal warnings, but we don’t admonish or punish them.”

Current police department personnel, he said, consists of approximately 180 patrol officers, 50 supervisors with a ranking of sergeant and higher and 50 civilians, the latter of whom include dispatchers, clerks and records room workers.

As of Monday, according to the office of Mayor Paul Coogan, 136 people in the city so far have died this year after contracting the COVID-19 virus. More than 220,000 Americans have died of the contagious, respiratory disease, health officials have said.

During a recent interview inside police headquarters, Huard said no one to date has called to complain about a patrol officer not wearing a mask while on duty.

But he cited an instance of how a cop who reportedly didn’t have his nose and mouth covered — while working a paid detail at Walmart — came to the attention of Cardoza. Huard said he and others in the department became aware of the Walmart scenario as result of critical comments posted by civilians on social media. The officer in question, he said, received a verbal reprimand.

Fewer arrests

In order to minimize physical interaction inside the building between police and the public, Huard says whenever it’s possible and reasonable officers are opting to issue a summons to appear in court instead of making an arrest.

“There are exceptions when it’s a felony or restraining order (violation), but we’ve been trying to avoid making as many arrests,” he said.

Patrolman Matt Pacheco, who works in the booking room where arrestees are processed, says the number of people taken into custody in recent months has declined by as much as 30 to 40 percent.

That means there’s usually plenty of available space among the 20 holding cells.

Huard also noted that the state’s current health-emergency order, prohibiting the reopening of bars that don’t sell food, has resulted in fewer arrests for disturbances and fights in barrooms.

Visitors who leave the police station main lobby and have permission to enter the headquarters proper have their temperature taken with a forehead thermometer and are required to wear a face covering.

This includes gun owners renewing licenses and registered sex offenders checking in with police each year.

And arrestees are no exception.

Huard said suspects who have been arrested have their temperature taken and are given face masks before they walk into the booking room after being escorted while handcuffed from the sally port, drop-off garage.

He says they’re not required to wear a mask once they’re placed into one of the single-occupancy holding cells.

Germ-killing gear

Fall River police have been using two pieces of equipment to sanitize surfaces and kill any potential coronavirus microbes.

One of them is an electrostatic sprayer, also called a multi-purpose fogger, made by the Ryobi company of Japan.

Sgt. Ray Morrissette, who is in charge of the department’s supply of personal protective equipment, or PPE, says the half-gallon, hand-held sprayer is utilized as needed inside the building and for departmental vehicles.

“We’re fortunate we have a spacious building,” he said, referring to the 24-year-old police station.

The police department has also been using a portable ultraviolet C disinfection device purchased from ClorDiSys Solutions of New Jersey.

Huard says the UVC system is used on the second floor to disinfect the interview room in the major crimes division after each interview has been conducted.

Windows must be covered lest a person’s cornea be damaged.

“You can feel the warmth on the windows,” Huard said.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic last March, Huard says fixed partitions have been installed to separate and protect civilian workers in the two dispatch rooms — one of which is used to answer incoming calls, including police and fire 911 calls, and the other to relay information to officers in the field.

He said the police department also has five portable, plexiglass partitions at its disposal.

Depending on the day of the week, Huard said, the number of dispatchers answering incoming calls ranges from three to five; he said three civilian dispatchers work in the attached out-call room.

Upstairs on the second floor in the department’s administrative area, Huard said all three employees wear masks throughout their shift.

Huard said prior to the pandemic as many as five officers at a time could type up reports in the “typing room.” That number has since been reduced to a maximum of three.

He said in order to enlarge the small typing room — which abuts the much larger uniformed watch commanders office — an existing wall would need to be removed and a new one erected to separate what would be a larger typing room from the uniformed commanders office.

Huard said Chief Cardoza has spoken to Mayor Coogan about the possibility of paying for the construction work by utilizing some CARES Act money the city received from the federal government.

Other covid-related changes in the building have included the so-called community room, where church groups sometimes hold meetings.

Huard says the chief has been using the large room for his weekly staff meetings as an alternative to the much smaller, original staff room upstairs. He also says crime intelligence meetings are being held in the community room.

Fellow public information officer, Capt. Dan Dube, says the police department keeps has kept in contact with the city’s board of health to ensure that safety guidelines are followed.

Cops on patrol

Huard says patrol officers are equipped with gloves, N95 respirator masks, protective goggles and at least one isolation, surgical gown.

Because they generally work alone, he said they’re not required to wear a mask while driving. In the event of a call involving a fight or some other violent incident, he says they may not have time to put on their mask before heading to the scene.

Huard said officers responding to a call at a building will try to social distance as much as possible and often will ask a person if they can come outside to talk.

PPE supplies

Huard and Dube said the department for the time being has an adequate supply of PPE.

Besides the supplies the department has procured, they said civilians have generously donated some PPE, including one man who recently offered a bulk of disposable gloves.

“The first two or three weeks we scurried around a little,” to make sure everyone had enough PPE, Huard said.

“But the chief quickly got on top of it,” he added.

Huard says before the advent of the pandemic he “never paid much attention to washing my hands.”

“Now,” he said, “I’m constantly cleaning my hands.”

Dube, 52, said police can’t take the risk of assuming a false sense of security and not adhering to social-distancing guidelines and wearing masks.

“It’s a crap shoot,” he said, “because it only takes one (person),” to spread the virus among many others.