KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Law enforcement said preparation remains a constant as the Jackson County, Missouri, Detention Center now deals with its first COVID-19 case.
"We had to steer into this problem instead of waiting for it to hit us," Jackson County, Missouri, Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker told 41 Action News on Sunday.
It began with the gradual release of inmates from the detention center.
"It was necessary to free up some space in the jail to actually deal with inmates who do get sick, who might get who might get ill from COVID-19," Peters Baker said.
Since Kansas City, Missouri's stay-at-home order went in effect, 150 inmates are no longer behind bars.
"We’ll continue to answer the call of the jail, the needs of the jail, but I feel like right now, we're in a pretty good shape," Peters Baker said.
This is as Sheriff Darryl Forté announced on social media Saturday the first case of COVID-19 of a "non-inmate."
And defense attorney Daniel Ross isn't happy about the way in which the message was disseminated.
"I need to know this," Ross said. "I need to know it immediately. I learned about it in a doggone tweet."
Ross sent a letter to Forté and the director of the corrections department asking for clear communication in the future.
"I'm an advocate for my client, as any attorney that represents an inmate there," Ross told 41 Action News. "Hey, how about you bring the advocates on board and, you know, we're not going to obstruct anything."
That communication also is crucial for those whose loved ones remain at the jail.
Gregshima O'Neal Cole said her husband, Terry, is asthmatic. She is concerned for his well-being while he awaits his trial amid this outbreak.
"I can tell that he's not breathing good," Cole said. "We need to rally around the detention center for our friends and our family that are located in here."
Law enforcement believe they are being as transparent as possible during the covornavirus pandemic.
"It is a concern that inmates cannot have contact with their families, and you know it is for a time, it is for now. It is not permanent. And so it is a new strain, however. And it's something for all of us to be aware of, and continue to watch so that it can be managed, rather than blow up like it did in Kansas," Peters Baker said referring to last week's riot at the Lansing Correctional Facility.
