COVID-19 outbreak forces entire southwest Illinois police department to shut down
A breakout of COVID-19 has infected every member of the Venice Police Department, the town’s mayor confirmed Thursday.
Venice Mayor Tyrone Echols said all three police officers and the chief are out due to COVID. As a result, the entire department will be shut down as its staff either recovers or completes a mandatory 10-day quarantine.
“I think it’s everybody except for possibly two dispatchers,” Echols said of the infections.
Echols said he spoke to Venice Police Chief Theo Adams and “he sounded pretty rough.”
Illinois State Police and other law enforcement agencies in Madison County will patrol the area until all Venice police are back on duty, Echols said.
“I want everyone to know we are covered,” he said.
The department previously had at least eight officers, but Echols said officers there “come and go. ” Most leave in search of better pay, he said, and the churn has left the police department short-handed.
Echols said he has issued an executive order mandating vaccinations for all city employees and face coverings for anybody visiting city hall.
“This pandemic is nothing to play with,” he said.
Venice Alderman Gerald Massie acknowledged the issues COVID-19 has caused the city’s police department and said he knows from experience how hard the virus can be to fend off.
“I was in the military and served in Vietnam. I can tell you that anything I experienced while I was in Vietnam can’t compare to what COVID did to me,” Massie said.
“You feel like you’re dying. You ache and breathing is hard. You can’t eat. I got weaker and weaker everyday. There’s no help because nobody can come see you. If they bring you some food they have to leave it at the door.”
This story was originally published August 19, 2021 at 5:07 PM.
