Coronavirus Update: 2nd SFPD Officer, Work Partner Of SVU Sergeant, Tests Positive
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A second San Francisco police officer assigned to the Special Victims Unit has tested positive for coronavirus, SFPD said Wednesday. The individual is the partner of the first officer who tested positive on Tuesday.
The second officer did not come into work on Monday or Tuesday but still reported feeling unwell. On Wednesday morning, the officer tested positive for COVID-19 and is currently self-quarantining at home.
The officer's partner, a sergeant SFPD SVU in the Hall of Justice, went home sick on Friday, March 20 and immediately consulted medical authorities, SFPD said.
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SFPD sent home 25 sworn staff members and two civilian staff members to self-quarantine for 14 days on Tuesday. The SVU office at the Hall of Justice has been closed to public walk-ins since Monday, March 16, but their services are still offered if needed.
"It's here and it's real," said Tony Montoya, president of the SFPOA, the police union for SFPD who calls the positive test "the tip of the iceberg." Montoya sent a letter to San Francisco Mayor London Breed calling for the implementation of a "public safety fast-track testing protocol." He wants every single officer in the department to be tested.
"That way we have a baseline. If we're going to slow this thing down, we need to know who's infected right now," Montoya said.
"I'm sure you heard what happened in New York where 200 of their officers have tested positive. And over 3000 have been quarantined and told to self isolate," said Montoya. "That's more members than I have so we need to prepare ourselves for the worst case scenario here."
"Our work puts our sworn and non-sworn professional staff in close contact with the public every day. We remain committed to the health and well-being of both the public and our dedicated members," SFPD said in a statement.
KPIX 5's Joe Vazquez contributed to this report.
