Sheriff’s office providing backup after entire East Texas police department tests positive for virus

MORRIS COUNTY, Texas (KLTV) - Law enforcement officers are as vulnerable to the coronavirus as anyone else, as one East Texas department has discovered.

Lone Star Police Department consists of five employees. All five, the secretary and four officers, have tested positive for COVID-19. Chief Steven Blythe said that all five people, himself included, are quarantining at home.

“After our secretary tested positive, the mayor asked us all to go get tested at Hospitality Health ER in Longview. We all tested positive,” Blythe said.

He said that while they are in quarantine, Sheriff Jack Martin and his deputies and staff will cover any calls for Lone Star residents. He said any calls that require future follow up will be taken care of by the police department when they are able to return. The sheriff’s office number is 903-645-2232.