The Fort Worth Police Department is tied up with both fighting crime and the Corona Virus. The Department reported Friday that 224 personnel are out due to Covid-19.
This is bad time for the department, which the department was understaffed by 70 officers at the top of the year for working to close the gap with hostile recruiting campaign.
The department last reported in September of 2020, that it only had 1,700 sworn officers. Although we do not know exactly what departments have been impacted.
Per Officer Buddy Calzada, officers are currently being taken from specialized units to ensure that our response times to 911 are not delayed. Overtime pay is also being utilized. “What we’re doing is keeping everything on the front lines of our patrol, “Calzada stated. “We’re making sure that stays heavily stocked and well-staffed.”
Calzada also mentioned to news reported that of the 224 employees not working, 143 are infected with Covid-19. The remaining 81 employees are in quarantine due to being exposed by an infected person.
Those who have tested positive include:
– 26 civilians
– 1 recruit
– 82 officers
– 16 corporals or detectives
– 10 sergeants
– 6 lieutenants
– 1 commander
– 1 deputy chief
Those who are under quarantine right now include:
– 9 civilians
– 50 officers
– 11 corporals or detectives
– 8 sergeants
– 2 lieutenants
– 1 deputy chief
Calzada told news reporters that right now it is hard to know if there is specific outbreak within rank and file.
“We haven’t seen any kind of outbreak within a specific unit per se.” Calzada said. “In other words, a specific group of people that all work together haven’t been impacted.”
“These cases have kind of just come individually.”
However, he did mention there are currently a good recruitment cycle in process that began in early December of last year. They are looking to hire and enroll 50 new cadets in the police academy at least.
Calzada stated “ We are encouraging people to take the pandemic seriously and that it is far from over.”
