Mt. Juliet, Tenn. – The safety and well-being of those who live, work, and visit the Mt. Juliet community is the utmost concern of the police department. To continue to provide essential police services to the community, the department has taken the following steps to protect those we serve and our staff:
- All Mt. Juliet Police sponsored public events, municipal adult court, municipal juvenile court, and traffic school are postponed until at least April 10, 2020. A member of the police department will contact those who have been scheduled for the postponed events and court dates.
- The citizen ride-along program has been suspended until further notice.
- Community members who need to report past-occurred crimes, or other crimes which they were inclined to visit police headquarters in-person to report, should call the police department at 615-754-2550 to determine if an officer can assist over the phone, instead of in person.
- If a community member is experiencing an emergency, they should dial 911 and an officer will respond to assist. However, for some non-emergency situations, an officer may be able to help via the phone, or community members can file an online report for specific incidents such as lost property, destruction of property, civil disputes, financial crimes, theft, alcohol violations, or harassing calls/emails. Officers will continue to respond to in-progress incidents, any incident that requires evidence processing, and incidents requiring immediate police intervention.
- Community members can use the Mt. Juliet Police Department’s website at www.mjpd.org to access the Online Reporting System and follow the detailed instructions to see if their incident is reportable online. If anyone has any questions about filing an online report, or if online reporting is not appropriate for their situation, they should contact the police department at 615-754-2550 for assistance.
- The department’s records and court clerk office will be closed to the public until further notice. If anyone needs a copy of a report, please call 615-754-2550 or visit the department’s website at www.mjpd.org. Staff members will make arrangements to mail or email the report.
- All citation payment due dates have been placed on hold until further notice. Those who have due dates during the hold period should not worry. All in-person citation processing has ceased, and those affected will have an opportunity to satisfy their citation at a later date. Those who wish to pay online can continue to do so.
- If anyone calls 911 for an emergency, or the non-emergency dispatch number, 615-754-2550, they should understand that the communication dispatchers have been instructed to ask additional questions regarding possible Coronavirus exposure factors for certain instances.
- Also, officers have been instructed to take the following precautions when interacting with community members on calls for service, for both the protection of the person(s) they are assisting, as well as for the officer’s themselves:Wear protective equipment such as latex gloves and protective masks if an officer suspects an individual is exhibiting signs of illness or has been in contact with a suspected Coronavirus patient.Ask additional questions regarding the health of an individual, including possible recent travels or other personal contacts.
- Limit unnecessary physical contact with non-arrestees, such as avoiding handshakes, and respect a larger social distancing space of ideally six feet.
“It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that we do our part in reducing the spread of diseases and illnesses. Since we know the COVID-19 (coronavirus) is thought to be spread mainly from person to person, the department continues to stay consistent with many entities, both locally and nationally, as new information and guidelines flow in, stated Chief James Hambrick. “Even though there have been many impacts by the recent tornado and, now, precautions for the coronavirus, the Mt. Juliet Police Department family continues to work hard to keep our community safe. I’m grateful of everyone for the amazing work each continue to do!”
These measures are only taken out of an abundance of caution for the community we serve. For our staff members to adequately provide the level of service to the community it expects, we need to take into account both the health of the community and our staff members.
These are important reminders on how you can protect your health:
- Wash your hands frequently with soap and warm water for 20 seconds or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Stay home if you feel ill.
- Call your healthcare professional if you feel sick with fever, cough, or difficulty breathing and have been in close contact with a person known to have confirmed coronavirus.
- Stay informed and up to date with information directly from the CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html), the Tennessee Department of Health (https://www.tn.gov/health/cedep/ncov.html), and Wilson County Emergency Management Agency’s (https://www.wilsonema.com/covid19/) websites.
###