Five Detroit police officers have tested positive for COVID-19, and a total of 152 are quarantined, Detroit Police Chief James Craig announced Friday.
The 152 officers represent around 7% of the roughly 2200 Detroit police officers.
Craig said the 9th precinct on the city’s east side has been hardest hit so far. He had to send in back-up officers there.
“It’s certainly a cause for concern … [but] I can tell you that our services at this point will not change,” Craig said, according to the Detroit Free Press.
But Craig said a doubling of that number would require going into the “the next phase of deployment,” according to The Detroit News. That could involve the “collapsing of certain investigative units.”
Craig said emergency calls will remain the department’s priority. He had already given officers leeway to use more discretion and not make arrests for less serious crimes.
But Craig noted the COVID-19 situation is unfolding rapidly, and warned: “I might have a different posture come Monday, or even tomorrow.”
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