We aren’t out of the woods yet. However, any return to normal has the potential to be celebrated.
“I’m excited to say, it has not been announced yet, but we’re going back to our normal schedule on Friday,” said Chula Vista Police Chief Roxana Kennedy.
She said that while setting up a table full of cupcakes and cookies for her officers.
“There’s a heart behind the badge and we’re all family. We’re all in this together,” she said.
A CVPD Lieutenant said the force adjusted its normal four 10-hour day work weeks in March to a 12.5-hour shift that minimized contact between officers.
The lieutenant said they called it the CVPD COVID-Related Emergency Staffing Plan to make sure they had backup coverage to handle calls while officers were out due to COVID-19 issues. The plan also included returning to patrol work for many detectives.
Tuesday morning, Chief Kennedy joined the Chula Vista Police Foundation to thank the South Bay city’s officers. The Foundation’s Executive Director Becky Cortez-Moot recruited several Chula Vista families to help her make more than 200 cupcakes for the police department.
“We can say, ‘Hey, we love you. We appreciate you,’” she said as she delivered the cupcakes late Monday night. “Their stress level is hard, just like the healthcare workers.”
Chief Kennedy tried to keep up with Cortez-Moot by baking hundreds of cookies for Tuesday morning.
“I haven’t cooked in a long time. So, last night was quite the evening,” she said.
Local
Shortly before 6 a.m. Tuesday, the night shift walked by the table on the way home as the day shift was rolling into work.
“Thank you so much!” said one officer as she stashed a cupcake and cookie in a plastic sandwich bag.
“Great way to start the day,” said another officer.
“It was done from the heart,” concluded Chief Kennedy.
Cortez-Moot said the Chula Vista Police Foundation is a non-profit that works to keep officers equipped with the tools they need.
