Law agencies keeping on

Local law-enforcement agencies are more mindful of the coronavirus pandemic and taking more precautions against it, but they're not backing off with their usual duties, either.

"We're business as usual. We have to be," Quay County Sheriff Russell Shafer summarized in a phone interview last week.

Tucumcari Police Chief David Lathrom said his force already had been taking protective measures before the epidemic, including wearing gloves and washing their hands.

"The only thing we've added to that is more routine disinfecting of the patrol cars, keyboards on computers, things like that," he said. "It's very minor stuff."

Lathrom said the city of Tucumcari is looking at acquiring additional personal protective equipment for its officers, but "they got behind the curve on getting us that stuff" because the pandemic "snuck up on everybody."

Shafer said his deputies each were issued two protective masks. He said Daniel Zamora, the county's emergency management coordinator, recently acquired another box of masks for the department. The state last week also strongly encouraged wearing masks when out in the public.

Shafer also said deputies also wear rubber gloves because "I'm kind of a stickler for those."

He said he's been reiterating "universal precautions" for his deputies.

"Be more mindful about what you touch," he explained. "Don't go into houses unless it's positively and absolutely necessary."

Researching the virus, Shafer said he learned the average person touches his or her face three times a minute. Disease experts have been urging people to refrain from doing that during the pandemic.

"I've been trying to change my habits with that and not touch my face," he said.

He said his office has seen more use of soap and hand sanitizer, and deputies have been practicing social distancing to reduce potential exposure to the virus.

Shafer said he would issue face shields to deputies once coronavirus is confirmed as an issue in the county.

Deputies also screen the north entrance of the courthouse. They ask entrants about potential symptoms and insist they use a nearby hand-sanitizer dispenser.

Asked about his officers' morale, Lathrom said it has been "pretty darned spectacular."

"The only downer we've seen is they've canceled (police) trainings around the state," he said. "The interruption in the progression of our training probably has been the biggest thing we've seen."

Even so, Lathrom said all officers on the force are schooled a step or two above their rank. Even patrolmen undergo supervisor training. The lack of new training won't have any meaningful effect or a while.

Shafer quipped "a few heads are getting shaggy" because of the closing of barbershops as non-essential businesses during the pandemic. He acknowledged some residents might be apprehensive because of the situation.

"We're feeling the effects (of the pandemic), certainly," he said. "But as far as anyone getting down or depressed, no."

Shafer admitted he didn't have a good answer if one or several deputies become sidelined because they're ill or test positive for the virus.

He said he looked into protocols by San Juan County if officers are sickened by coronavirus. But he said those guidelines - which include going to separate 12-hour shifts that would avoid contact with each other - aren't a good fit with Quay County's seven-person force.

"If we get one person sick in this office, since we don't have shifts, I couldn't tell you how to work this right now," Shafer said. "It's bad practice to hope for the best, but we're so small, if we get two people sick with this, it's going to be a domino effect for the rest of us. I really don't have a good plan for us."

Shafer said he likely would hold a meeting soon with city and state police on some sort of mutual-aid arrangement.

Lathrom indicated mutual aid is something he has in mind.

"The sheriff's office and police department work pretty close together all the time," he said. "We help each other out, manpower-wise. We back each other on calls. We provide assistance on some of the outlying areas, too.

"The departments around here are really good about helping each other. We don't have problems like other places where the departments don't work together."

Lathrom added if his police force shrinks because of the virus, his officers would do more work on the phone for minor cases.

"It shouldn't have a big impact on the people here in town even if officers go down because we've planned for that sort of thing," he said.

Christopher Birch, administrator for the Quay County Detention Center, said his facility has a low population of inmates because it's undergoing renovations that would last through early May.

Birch said the jail has stopped visitations for now. Most inmates understand the precaution, as the virus can affect their mothers, aunts, uncles and other relatives.

Asked about what would happen if corrections officers become ill with COVID-19, he said: "I'm sure we'll have to move people out of the front office and have them cover shifts."