Below is the update from Lt. Moore from last night’s shift.  This is still very fluid and I have been trying to send those that will not have a negative effect on our service delivery by being gone.  I am also trying to send as many different officers as possible so all can get exposure to this type of disaster scene, we could have the same thing on any given day.  I do not plan to send anymore Lt.s since I need you here more than they need you there. 

Lt. McCulloch and I visited the hospital just after briefing this morning.  The Riverside officer’s name is xxxx

xxxxxx and he is critically injured from the lightning strike yesterday evening.  Besides family, there is another Riverside officer there, a GCSO Sergeant who is a personal friend of xxxxxx’s, and 2 Joplin officers who escorted the ambulance here last night.  We sent an officer to relieve the Joplin officers and Mike Evans is coordinating relief through the SPOA for our on-duty officer.  I told Mike if one of our volunteering officers who is sitting with the family needs to leave for an emergency, they should call the Watch Commander for temporary relief from an on-duty officer until the next volunteer officer arrives.  Also, the SPOA has coordinated motel rooms and food for the family, hu-ah!

On a side note, one of the Joplin officers said they really appreciated our assistance last night during the drive in.  They were escorted to the City Limits by MSHP and SPD took them on in to St John’s.  The JPD officer said once they hit the City Limits he never had to hit his brakes until they arrived at the hospital.  Good job Vance, those little things matter.

Currently, Sgt. Rader has a team in Joplin for today’s shift.  I am working to notify members of Sq. 7 for tonight’s shift and later today will get out a schedule to take us up to the weekend.  It is truly a day-to-day assessment for need.  Our assignments in Joplin have varied with shift and hour of day, so we must be prepared for anything.  I heard on the news that President Obama will visit on Sunday, don’t know what assistance we may be asked for yet.  Also, we are tracking every expense and minute of staff time for possible reimbursement by FEMA in the future.  Kathy M. is coordinating this information.

On a side note, I spoke with JPD Lt. Matt Stewart and they greatly appreciate our help.  None of the JPD officers have had more than 5 hours sleep since Sunday so they are wearing out quick.  Five of them don’t have homes to sleep in and several more have damaged homes to deal with.  Matt said our officers really displayed the help attitude they need and didn’t complain about any assignment they were given, “they just did it”.  Great job by all!!