By Police1 Staff
LOS ANGELES — Efforts to rid a LAPD station of a dangerous bacteria were delayed because police were unable to reach someone at the city’s General Service Department for a cleanup crew on May 3.
According to LAist, it took hours for a cleaning crew to be dispatched to the station, leaving officers working inside the station at a time when the extent of the bacteria contamination was unclear.
The bacteria was found after the station’s commander went to the hospital for a rash. Doctors determined it was a treatment-resistant staph infection.
“That’s when there was something of a panic,” said Vice President of the Los Angeles Police Union Steve Gordon.
The bacteria, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is highly contagious and can be life-threatening.
Four officers were infected and believe a homeless man brought the bacteria into the station.
Multiple calls were made for a cleanup crew over a five-hour period after police learned of the outbreak, but because of a new employee at the General Services Department, they never showed.
Later that day, someone finally placed a call to a crime scene cleanup crew that contracts with the LAPD who arrived an hour and a half after to get rid of the bacteria.
“I’ve set up a meeting with General Services to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Gordon said.
Two contaminated officers are back at work and the other two are expected to be back soon.