March 20, 2020
By: Dwayne Page
The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department along with the Smithville and Alexandria Police Departments are modifying their responses to calls amid concerns about COVID-19.
“Each call will be evaluated to determine if an officer needs to respond or if a report can be taken by phone,” said Sheriff Patrick Ray, Smithville Police Chief Mark Collins, and Alexandria Police Chief Chris Russell in a joint statement.
The three primary law enforcement agencies in the county decided to take this action after learning that neighboring Putnam County now has one confirmed case of the Coronavirus with possibly up to 7 others . All three agency leaders said “We are trying to keep our employees safe through this epidemic. If we have more than a couple of officers out at one time, we are in trouble.”
“Starting Saturday, March 21 at 7:00 a.m. until further notice, all deputies and city police officers will respond to calls differently than normal. Central Dispatch will evaluate each call and determine whether to direct deputies or city officers to respond or if the call can be taken over the phone. All life threatening emergency calls will be responded to as normal.” according to the statement.
You may call central dispatch at 615-215-3000 or in case of an emergency dial 911.