Dallas sheriffs deputies upset about being ordered inside Ebola patients apartment without protective gear
By Kevin Krause kkrause@dallasnews.com
3:58 pm on October 3, 2014
http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2014/10/dallas-sheriffs-deputies-upset-about-being-ordered-inside-ebola-patients-apartment-without-protective-gear.html/
Five Dallas County sheriffs deputies who were ordered Wednesday to go inside the Dallas apartment where an Ebola patient stayed are now worried about their health.
And the sheriffs association that represents them is not happy about the departments lack of preparations and precautions before sending them.
Sgt. Chris Dyer, president of the association, said a lieutenant, sergeant and three deputies went inside the apartment to serve the containment warrant that asked the occupants not to leave. The deputies accompanied the countys health director, Zachary Thompson, and its medical director, Christopher Perkins, to the apartment, Dyer said.
The deputies were not wearing any protective gear, not even latex gloves, Dyer said.
The sheriffs department later took their vehicles out of service for quarantine and asked the deputies to remove and bag their uniforms and boots, Dyer said. But the deputies were not given any information about potential health hazards, he said.
These guys are really upset, he said. Their families are really upset.
Dyer said he asked that they all be sent home. He also asked his departments second in command for a meeting Friday between the deputies and county health officials to provide information about the Ebola virus and to answer questions.
Dyer said the meeting with Perkins and Thompson went well and that his deputies feel better about their situation. They will take their temperature each morning and night for several days and seek medical treatment if they develop a fever or other symptoms, he said.
Sheriffs spokeswoman Carmen Castro said: We are simply taking extra precautions so our deputies have some peace of mind.
Dyer also went to the Ivy Apartments on Wednesday night but did not go inside. He said he and another deputy stood guard all night to monitor the complex and make sure no one entered or left. There were no incidents, he said.
Dyer said he thought federal health officials should have taken control of the scene immediately. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should have contained the entire building, he said.
That may be overkill, but whats a little overkill when youre talking about something as serious as this? he said.
He said the sheriffs department did not follow its own procedures about coming into contact with potentially hazardous material.
We went out there with no protection, he said. There was a lot of miscommunication and lack of communication.la.
miscommunication. Seems to be the excuse all around.