Pittsburgh police instructor tests positive for coronavirus; recruit class suspended

A Pittsburgh Police Academy firearms instructor tested positive for covid-19, prompting officials to suspend a 28-member recruit class

The city’s Public Safety Department is working to identify everyone, including recruits, who came into contact with the instructor.

Officials sent the instructor home on Wednesday after he began exhibiting symptoms similar to the flu. He was tested on Thursday and confirmed with covid-19 on Saturday.

The officer, who was not identified, is the first city police officer and the city’s second first responder to test positive for covid-19, according to public safety Director Wendell Hissrich. One city firefighter tested positive for covid-19 last month.

“Hopefully, we will have no more positive tests but, as we have seen in other cities, first responders are often deeply impacted by this virus,” Hissrich said.

One police recruit is exhibiting symptoms and was tested, but the results aren’t back yet, according to police Chief Scott Schubert. The officer and recruit are in quarantine.

“… Out of an abundance of caution we have temporarily suspended a 28-person recruit class as we identify who among them might have been exposed to a firearms instructor that has tested positive for covid-19,” Schubert said. “Any exposure would have occurred at the outdoor police firing range in Zone 5 and not in the Academy.”

Police officials are in the process of identifying and notifying everyone who had contact with the officer and placing them in self-quarantine. Anyone with symptoms will be tested. How the officer was infected is unknown, Schubert said.

The city said it is checking with the instructor daily and has sanitized all equipment and gear that he used.

The training academy runs six classes each year, with 32 to 40 graduates and an 80% completion or graduation rate, according to the police bureau. Cadets spend eight months at the academy before graduation. Police officials welcomed the most recent set of cadets in November.

Allegheny County closed its police and fire academies last month in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Schubert said the city suspended in-service training for officers three weeks ago.

“We suspended the training of a new recruit class, but continued the training of this class because they were close to satisfying their training requirements,” the chief said. “The class was isolated from other officers and was instructed to maintain social distancing.”

At least 17 of the city’s first responders have been quarantined at various times because of potential contact with coronavirus.

First responders and city officials have expressed concern about a lack of notifications about potential contact while on calls with people suffering from covid-19. Allegheny County, in response, created a system at its 911 center to notify police, firefighters and paramedics when they are headed to a home with a confirmed case of covid-19.

“These are stressful times, and first responders simply cannot work from home,” Schubert said. “I stand in awe of my officers for the way they have dedicated themselves to our communities during this most difficult time.”