Kim Fundingsland/MDN All personnel at the Minot Police Department have been directed to use face masks during the coronavirus outbreak in an effort to keep the virus from spreading throughout the ranks.

Even in the midst of a pandemic, police must necessarily continue to protect and patrol. Coping with COVID-19 became a priority to insure that enough police remained healthy so that there was no lack of law enforcement in the City of Minot.

First year Police Chief John Klug had just taken over from retiring Chief Jason Olson when the pandemic struck.

“That was March 2020,” recalled Klug. “About six weeks after I took over as chief. I couldn’t have thought that my first year would be in a pandemic, couldn’t have dreamt that in my worst nightmare.”

The message that COVID-19 could become a real problem for law enforcement came through loud and clear in the early stages of the pandemic. A department employee was one of the first confirmed cases of coronavirus in the state.

“A lot of eyes were on our department,” said Klug. “What was our response going to be? It could be life and death decisions for our officers. It definitely tested me in making decisions.”

One of the biggest things for the department, said Klug, was the amount of time devoted to planning daily operations to minimize the chances of coronavirus spreading through police ranks. COVID-19 created a constantly changing work environment.

“Nobody knew what to expect,” said Klug. “You had to trust what was the latest and greatest information. We had to trust the First District Health Unit, State Health Department, CDC, and hoped they were all saying something similar so we didn’t have to guess which one to follow.”

As the number of people who came down with coronavirus continued to grow, so too did the impact of the virus at the Police Department. Out of a staff of 117 about 15 were out at one time due to the virus and there was no way to tell how widespread the outbreak would become.

“We had to ask ourselves then what this might look like in another week,” stated Klug. “Eventually we were going to run out of people. We had to reduce the chance of spreading infection within our walls and we still had to run our operation.”

The problem was very real, especially the possibility that if one officer on a shift tested positive for COVID-19 then all others on that same shift might have to enter quarantine.

“They could all get wiped out,” said Klug. “Some of our department could work from home but, obviously, our officers can’t. Detectives can for the most part but it is not ideal. We had to start thinking about who could step up and help fill the gaps if it came to that.”

As a defense against contracting coronavirus, Minot Police were directed to practice social distancing, wear masks, and make generous use of hand sanitizer.

“Not everybody liked it,” remarked Klug. “Whenever officers thought there was a possibility of being within six feet of someone they put a mask on. Like wearing a gun or a protective vest, it wasn’t an option. Eventually it became easier for the officers to just put a mask on and leave it on.”

Police precautions worked and, despite constant interaction with the public, there was no major loss of work days by personnel due to coronovirus. Furthermore, said Klug, there have actually been a few benefits to the pandemic.

“It helped up build a better relationship with First District,” said Klug. “I think it brought a better cycle of communication to a number of agencies.”

During the early stages of the pandemic, obtaining necessary supplies, such as protective face masks, was an issue. Supplies were low and the demand was high. Klug said a lesson learned was that his department needed to improve their stockpile of safety equipment that was “getting sucked up by every organization around the country.”

So what about the lasting effect of the pandemic, changes that may become permanent?

“It may change how people deal with the flu season,” speculated Klug. “Maybe all this distancing and mask wearing and hand washing decreases that as well. The trouble right now is trying to find the truth in that sea of information to determine what’s right and what’s wrong.”