Greenwood police grapples with COVID-19 outbreak

<p>About 17% of Greenwood’s police force were out Friday with COVID-19, or self-isolating due to an outbreak that’s had its grip on the department for two weeks now.</p><p>Of the Greenwood Police Department’s 71 personnel — 63 of whom are patrol officers — 12 were out Friday either with COVID-19 or awaiting test results after showing symptoms, said James Ison, police chief.</p><p>The department has been battling the outbreak for nearly two weeks, Ison said. During that time, 15 officers have been sent home; a few returned to work Friday.</p><p>Ison would not say which divisions of the department the outbreaks are in, but said most who tested positive are pretty sick. One officer is hospitalized, but is “recovering well,” he said.</p><p>“It spreads like wildfire,” Ison said. “It’s very contagious, so once one person gets it, especially touching doorknobs, computers, light switches, it can be spread pretty easily.”</p><p>The department was already spread thin before the outbreak, as it tries to fill eight open positions. Now, officers are working split shifts, and some are working overtime, he said.</p><p>“We’re running thin, but we’re still able to meet adequate staffing levels,” Ison said.</p><p>The lobby of the Greenwood Justice Center on Surina Way was closed Thursday until further notice to ease staffing needs and slow the spread by limiting who comes inside. In the meantime, the department will not be offering fingerprinting, in-person records requests, gun permits or notary services.</p><p>“We’re doing everything we can, but we are a police department. We can shut the lobby down, but we can’t stop providing public safety,” Ison said.</p><p>Since the pandemic started, Greenwood officers and personnel have followed several safety protocols, including wearing masks inside and on runs when they have to interact with people. Officers have bottles of hand sanitizer in their cars, and office personnel wipe down their workspaces before they leave each day, he said.</p><p>It is not clear how or where the outbreak started, and they have not done contact tracing, Ison said.</p><p>“It’s almost impossible to figure out who patient-zero is or where it came from,” he said.</p><p>The Johnson County Health Department is not involved, director Betsy Swearingen said.</p>