2 more CMPD employees test positive for coronavirus. Police group calls for hazard pay
Two more Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police employees — a officer and a non-sworn employee — have tested positive for COVID-19, CMPD announced during a news conference on Wednesday.
Around 30 employees are quarantining at home as a precautionary measure, said CMPD Deputy Chief Jeff Estes.
On April 3, the City of Charlotte announced that three first responders had tested positive for COVID-19 and more than three dozen employees had been quarantined. The first responders included two CMPD officers, a Charlotte Fire employee and a Medic ambulance worker. At least two local jail employees have tested positive, the Observer has previously reported.
The Fraternal Order of Police, which supports and represents CMPD officers, has asked CMPD to stop dispatching officers to non-violent and non-emergency 911 calls to limit their potential exposure to the virus. The Charlotte FOP also is asking for hazard pay for its officers, as well as recommending the city extend hazard pay for other front-line government workers.
A similar measure has been adopted in Durham. The police department in Durham has stopped dispatching officers to non-violent calls when an incident has already occurred and a police can take a report over the phone.
On Wednesday, Estes said that CMPD has enough personnel to respond to 911 calls and officers are given N95 medical masks and other personal protective equipment.
“As long as we’re in a personnel staffing stance where we’re able to send officers to calls ... we believe that is our duty to do so,” he said.
