Sapulpa Police Department In Need Of Dispatchers

Sapulpa's 911 dispatch center is back up and running again.

A post on the city's police department posted online that Creek County dispatch temporarily handled 911 calls for the city over the weekend. Officers say this is a rare incident and it's because they're already short-staffed on dispatchers and others are out sick with COVID. 

"It's like all of the sudden déjà vu here we go again and we're going through this for a second-round it seems like," said Captain Troy Foreman. "We had a couple that tested positive and then we had a couple of exposures and that drastically cut our force in half as far as our dispatch. So right now we are trying to get one filled and we do have the other two that were exposed back on duty."

Captain Foreman said the dispatchers exposed to the virus tested negative and are back at work. He said they are limiting people from going into the dispatch call center, but they are still looking to fill one more position. 

"It is a revolving door cause really they are our first line of defense for the public when calls come in. Our dispatchers are the first ones that take the calls. So they are dealing with the high stress on the phone when they take that initial call. People are amped up," said Captain Foreman.

He said it's not just an issue in Sapulpa and trying to keep dispatchers is a challenge for police departments across the county. 

"It's just one of those things where people are going into other fields whether it be due to the economy, whether it be due to the change of desires and whatnot. And granted we're also limited just on our funds it is a public service field so funding is a factor," said Captain Foreman.

He said the dispatch center is operating again as normal and residents shouldn't see any issues. He said they began operations again around midnight last night.