Sheriff Don Koonce indicated they are releasing prisoners at the County Detention Center in response to the coronavirus spread. | Adobe Stock
Sheriff Don Koonce indicated they are releasing prisoners at the County Detention Center in response to the coronavirus spread. | Adobe Stock
Shelby County Sheriff Don Koonce openly admits the department is trying to keep the number of prisoners held at the Shelby County Detention Center down due to the coronavirus spread.
“We are trying to get the number down,” Koonce told the Shelbyville Daily Union. “There are 13 now and we have two in other facilities, but we are not accepting transfers.”
Koonce said department officials are taking added precautions to safeguard operations such as wearing masks and screening everyone that comes to the sheriff’s office. In addition, deputies are disinfecting their vehicles on a regular basis and carrying vials of spray disinfectant during their shifts.
“We still make domestic calls and respond to accidents,” Koonce told the Shelbyville Daily Union. “We are being safe, when we do. When we serve papers, we knock on the door and step back. We read the papers to them and leave the papers for them to pick up. You’ll notice the state police are not wearing their hats or ties, anything that can hold the germs from the virus.”
Courthouse procedures have also been altered as the deadly virus shows few signs of slowing. Among the most noticeable changes are security guards at the entrance wearing masks and asking those who want to enter the building what their purpose is. They are then either allowed in or someone from the court building comes down to meet them.
“Until this is over, people will just have to tolerate these changes,” Koonce told the Shelbyville Daily Union.
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