In the seven months since the start of the pandemic, COVID-19 has killed hundreds of police officers, changed how police do their work, and hampered community policing and other trust-building measures at a time when many people have taken to the streets to condemn police brutality and racism, Stateline reports. Estimates of the total death toll vary, but the Fraternal Order of Police attributes at least 235 law enforcement deaths to COVID-19 based on media reports, with the numbers reaching into the double digits in at least eight states. Said Houston’s assistant police chief Sheryl Victorian, “2020 has really been a tough year.”
Beyond personal health threats, the virus has made face-to-face bridge-building with community members much more difficult. Because of restrictions, “regularly scheduled activities where the police and the community would interact … are not occurring,” said Wesley G. Jennings, a professor of criminal justice and legal studies at the University of Mississippi. Other changes in policing include decisions by some departments not to arrest people for minor offenses, restricting public access to police stations, allowing some officers and civilian employees to work from home and collecting crime reports via phone or email instead of sending officers to the field. “You can’t have a global pandemic like this and things not change,” said Assistant Chief Joseph Chacon of the Austin Police Department, describing the litany of safeguards Austin officers routinely incorporate into their daily routine, from face masks and social distancing to applying “a ton of hand sanitizer” to their work stations and squad cars.