By Ray King
White Hall Police Chief Greg Shapiro said Wednesday his officers will not be enforcing the curfew ordered by Jefferson County Judge Gerald Robinson.
Appearing on the Oldies 101.3 morning show with Greg Horne and Will Jenkins, Shapiro said his officers will be enforcing social distancing orders but will not be looking to make an arrest.
Shapiro said officers will use other tools such as communication and negotiating to try and resolve any problems.
“You can’t arrest your way out of a pandemic,” he said.
With the closure of schools in the White Hall School District, Shapiro said four officers who were assigned as school resource officers have now been put into the patrol rotation, resulting in staff changes.
He said he spends much of his morning and early afternoon trying to locate protective equipment and supplies for officers, including hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, eye goggles and face shields.
“We want to protect our officers and the public we are dealing with,” Shapiro said.
He also discussed the newly installed Sky Cop camera systems that the department is using.
Shapiro said officers will be able to monitor the cameras from their phones and desk tops, and the cameras also have video recordings which he said makes great evidence in court.
“The cameras were installed March 12 which is about the same time as the COVID-19 virus hit and we’re had a couple of accidents (at intersections where the cameras are installed) but I haven’t had the time to evaluate the data,” he said.
