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The Rutland City Police Department is no longer putting more than one officer in the same cruiser at a time, has an officer taking complaints over the phone, and when possible, meeting people with complaints outside homes and buildings.
Those are some of the precautions the department as well as many others around the state are taking to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
Rutland City Police Chief Brian Kilcullen said this week the department is following the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by maintaining “6-foot social distancing” whenever possible.
‘We’re not having two officers in a vehicle,” he said. “In the past, in certain situations, we’d have two officers in a car. We’ll only have one now.”
He said the department is also staffing an officer in the station to handle certain lower-level complaints over the phone, and won’t respond in person.
“If we can deal with it over the phone, we will,” Kilcullen said.
Also, he said, when officers respond to a scene, they are asking that the parties meet them outside homes or buildings.
Leaders of other law enforcement agencies around the state say they are implementing similar policies. Over the weekend, Vermont State Police, the state’s largest law enforcement agency, announced a “tiered” system in handling calls based on the public safety threat level.
As a result, more calls, such as those for minor car accidents and vandalism would be handled by phone. Other higher public safety threat level cases, such as homicides, car crashes with injuries and domestic assaults, would continue to be investigated by troopers.
In recent days, state police have had to respond to several major calls, including a reported homicide on Saturday in Bolton and a shooting incident in Royalton early Tuesday morning that left one man dead and another hospitalized.
Fair Haven Police Chief William Humphries said his department is following many of those steps outlined by the state police.
“If we can handle stuff over the phone, through email, we will,” he said. “We also get questions and complaints to our Facebook page. We’ve been trying to handle them that way as well through our Facebook messenger.”
He said recently he has noticed a drop in calls for service as people are practicing “social distancing” more.
“The last couple of days the phone hasn’t rung as much,” he said. “I think people are hunkered down and not going out as much.”
In Barre, Police Chief Tim Bombardier said Tuesday his department hasn’t seen a similar drop off in calls for service. For example, he said, in the past week, his department logged 272 calls for service. By comparison, during a weeklong period a month ago the department had 243 calls for service.
“The calls have not stopped, we have not stopped,” Bombardier said.
He did say that the department policy, since Barre is only 4-square miles in size, was to respond to all calls in person. “I’ve always looked at calls within the city, that I want contact between the public and our officers,” he said.
However, Bombardier said, as a precaution to help avoid the spread of COVID-19 that has changed, at least for certain lower-level calls that will now be handled with officers taking reports over the phone.
“For example,” he said, “a fender bender parking lot accident we have always just responded to make sure people have insurance and a license.”
Now, he said, that would be handled over the phone and people involved in the accident can exchange information.
“It’s not just for officer safety and protection, and maintaining our police force, so we have enough officers to respond,” he said, “but it’s really limiting what we’re exposing other people to.”
Jon Murad, Burlington deputy police chief, said Thursday the department is not reducing its response to calls for service.
“But, in order to practice social distancing and to keep our officers and members of the public safe we may make changes to the way to respond to certain calls,” he said. “In some instances, if someone calls dispatch we may initially respond by phone.”
He added, “In no event, and I want to be very clear about that, in no event will we fail to respond to calls where someone’s safety is at risk.”
Murad added that the city is no longer giving parking tickets for meter violations or residential parking violations.
“We do want to make it easier for people to pick up food from restaurants,” he said. “We want people to be able to park and deliver food to friends and family.”
However, he said, the city is enforcing “prohibited area violations,” including blocking traffic and handicapped spaces.
Montpelier Police Chief Anthony Facos said Tuesday that his department is implementing many of the same policies as other law enforcement agencies around the state are to help control the spread of COVID-19.
“Wherever we can we’re facilitating calls for service over the phone, helpling that way where appropriate,” he said.
All shifts and assignments, he added, are operating normally.
“We might be tasked with different jobs that are not part of our normal routine,” Facos said. “That can be anything from assisting with Meals on Wheels to who knows what. We’re here to assist our community.”
Washington County State’s Attorney Rory Thibault, the county’s top prosecutor, sent a memo to law enforcement agencies in the county this week in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’ve asked that law enforcement submit everything electronically to the maximum extent possible,” he said.
In addition, Thibault said, people released on a citation for an offense to appear in court for an arraignment for offenses such as retail theft usually get that court date set six weeks out from the time the citation is issued.
“I’ve given guidance to ask that our partners in law enforcement not cite anybody into court prior to June 4,” he said.
However, he said, in cases involving violence such as homicide or domestic assaults, offenders will continue to be lodged in jail or, in some instances, issued a citation to appear the next day in court.
The Vermont Supreme Court, which oversees the state’s superior courts, on Monday afternoon declared a “judicial emergency,” suspending all non-emergency matters. Arraignments in cases where a defendant is lodged in jail are among the exceptions as well as arraignments for those charged with domestic violence.
In addition, Thibault said, his office would review any case where somebody is arrested on a warrant, such as for failing to show for past court hearings, and is taken into custody.
“Sometimes these can be $50, $100 or $200 arrest warrants,” he said.
Thibault said his office would call on the court to “quash” that warrant so the person would not have to go jail if they lacked the money to post that bail, provided the underlying offense doesn’t involve a crime of violence.
“I can say categorically if someone is picked up on a DLS (driving with license suspended) arrest warrant that is not really worth us bringing that person into a prison,” he said.
