Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - "We have five officers who have tested positive for coronavirus," Buffalo Police Captain Jeff Rinaldo told WBEN Friday morning.
One of those officers is in a local hospital in the Intensive Care Unit. The officer also works as a school resource officer. "Unfortunately," Rinaldo said, "he is still in the hospital. Our understanding is that he is in stable condition but still in ICU." About ten other Buffalo Police officers are in quarantine.
The coronavirus pandemic poses special challenges for law enforcement.
"We are in constant contact with the public and our officers are concerned," said Rinaldo. "We're doing everything we can to secure personal protective equipment. We have a supply of gloves and have at least one mask for every officer. Buffalo China and their affiliates have provided us with over 400 individual hand sanitizer bottles that we distributed to officers," he said.
The number of police calls are down, the number of arrests are down. "A lot of it has to do with commerce. Crime follows commerce," Rinaldo said.
We've also learned that a 3rd employee of the Erie County Sheriff's office has tested positive. This person worked in the jail management division and is in isolation. The Sheriff’s Office was notified Thursday evening. Contact tracing discovered the employee had contact with one other employee and had zero contact with inmates.