Snitch Nation: Americans Call 911 on Their Neighbors to Report Coughers to Law Enforcement
Shane Trejo
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Desperate Americans are now calling 911 to report coughers to police, and law enforcement has to devote resources to these frenzied calls – distracting from real emergencies during an unprecedented pandemic.
Law enforcement throughout California has announced that they are fielding emergency calls from people who have heard their neighbors cough or sneeze, fearing they have coronavirus.
“The concern is real and each call, no matter how infrequent, is a request for help that law enforcement personnel must take seriously and handle professionally,” noted Police One about these requests.
“Authorities say they can’t ignore such calls or discount them as paranoia, hypochondria or fakery. They must respond even when every other public entity adopts ‘social distancing’ in order to reduce possible coronavirus transmission,” they wrote.
California Peace Officers Association President Neil Gallucci is focused on trying to prevent first responders from contracting and spreading the coronavirus.
“If that happens enough, we worry about calls for service,” Gallucci said. ”We’re prepared to deal with issues that come up, but it’s a concern chiefs worry about.”
Law enforcement officials are desperately trying to prepare but not knowing what exactly to do besides following basic hygienic practices.
“If we’re getting calls from people who report they have symptoms, we’ll automatically forward them to the fire department for medical aid,” Riverside County sheriff’s Sgt. Albert Martinez said.
“We’re following directions from the county and working closely with public health to support them,” Martinez added. “We’re treating everything like we would if it was the flu. We are telling our employees to wash hands, be careful.”
“We deal with ill people all the time,” Indio police spokesman Ben Guitron said. “All of the safety measures are already in place … We’ve warned everyone on our staff to be careful, anyone from the frontline officer to detectives and records staff, every part of our department.”
Police Chief Jim Henson of Desert Hot Springs notes that they are enabling more reporting from citizens, giving desperate Americans more tools to report their paranoid fears to law enforcement with dubious evidence.
“What we’ve been trying to do is keep the website updated so people know that they can report to us remotely. They can call in when there’s no need to collect physical evidence,” Hanson said. “We’re trying to give residents as many opportunities as possible to report remotely from their homes.”
As Americans surrender their liberties and beg government officials to keep them safe, the former land of the free devolves rapidly into a Soviet-style hellscape.
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