NEBRASKA CITY-Otoe County Sheriff Colin Caudill and Nebraska City Chief of Police Dave Lacy addressed the Rotary Club of Nebraska City about how law enforcement is handling the COVID-19 Pandemic in River Country. 

Chief Lacy explained that the Nebraska City Police Department is putting emphasis on keeping the department headquarters disinfected, and trying to limit the amount of personnel who are in working at the headquarters.  Officers have been encouraged to work from their vehicles if possible, and have been asked to sanitize their vehicles when turning it over to another officer, and when receiving it.

Chief Lacy also said that Nebraska City PD is trying to handle as many calls as possible over the phone to limit physical interaction to hinder any spread of the coronavirus to the police department and to the public. Citations are being issued in lieu of arrests for minor offenses when possible as well. 

Sheriff Caudill stated the Sheriff's Office is also trying to handle as many calls as they can over the phone, and that deputies are equipped with masks, gloves, and extra training for when they do have to physically go on calls.   The extra training that Sheriff Caudill described deals with a series of questions used to pre-screen an individual or situation to determine what precautions need to be addressed before action is taken. 

The same pre-screening is being done at the jail facilities, and for minor offenses if the screening comes back for possible COVID-19 exposure the jail is issuing refusals. There are also no visitations at the jail currently, however Sheriff Caudill has taken advantage of technology to try to best accommodate the inmates. He is allowing for 15 minutes of free video conferencing per week for all inmates and Attorney's are using video conferencing or the telephone system that is separated by glass at the jail

Both the Sheriff's Office and Police Department are seeing a decrease in overall calls including no increases in domestic disputes.  Sheriff Caudill and Chief Lacy expressed that they are very thankful for the community compliance and support during these unprecedented times.  Little Ted's Pub and Grill provided an Easter Meal to the PD, Fire Station, and Sheriff's Office, while Whiskey Run in Brownville supplied gallons of hand sanitizer to the Sheriff's Office. The Sheriff's Office has also opened the option to employ local restaurants in Nebraska City to provide food for the jail if need be while maintaining Region V employees to pick up and prep the food to keep the community strong and involved.