Thank you to all the witnesses for being here.
Mr. Stamatakis, my first question is for you.
I live in Vancouver, where you have had a long and great career with the Vancouver Police Department. I reached out to some of your members in advance of this meeting and asked what their challenges and concerns were. I want to read to you one response I got.
The VPD officer said, “Most of my challenges and concerns are mostly answered with 'Just wear PPE' and 'You're going to get it eventually.' The reality of working on the front line is I'm not able to avoid high-risk interactions when it comes to COVID, and I feel like it's just assumed by the government that we will get it and to suck it up. I personally don't disagree with that assertion, but I know it makes lots of my co-workers, who have elderly relatives at home, much more nervous. Numerous times, I've had to deal with situations without PPE, as without my immediate intervention there could have been bodily harm or more. The current answer to that, afterwards, is 'Keep coming back to work until you show symptoms.' Couple that with constantly having to attend SROs at an increasing rate, working in close contact with people who have drug and mental issues that make even basic hygiene out of the question, and sharing all of my equipment—there is no end.”
Mr. Stamatakis, given jurisdictions like New York City, where 4,000 members of the NYPD have tested positive for COVID-19 and about 15% of the uniformed workforce is out sick, do you have any similar concerns with respect to your membership?