Salt Lake City firefighters were warned not to expect police officers as often as they have before because of a regular backlog of calls, according to a leaked department memo. The note, penned by Assistant Fire Chief Mike Fox, begins by saying the police department has changed some of their responses “due to COVID” and that they are experiencing “regular days when they have a backlog of calls.”
Fire department officials turned down a 2News request for an on-camera interview and advised we talk to the police about the call backlog and changes to department policies.
A spokesperson for Salt Lake City police on Friday denied the department has a staffing issue because of COVID-19 or any other reason. He referred 2News back to the fire department to discuss the content of the memo. In paragraph two, Fox says “you may not get police on low acuity medical calls, accidents... or on other calls that you would normally see them on.”