175: Tyler Moore

Policeman

Tyler Moyer is a Tredyfrin township policeman, who supervises five other officers. Tyler noted how stressful it was to do an already complex job, with the added worry about exposure to Covid for himself and his officers. Early on, they split the police department into two groups and kept the groups away from each other to preserve staffing. As officers contracted covid or got exposed, the remaining officers had to work extra shifts and overtime. Infection prevention gear was scarce in the beginning of the pandemic for things like masks, rubber gloves, and hand sanitizer, which left the department in short supply. Several distilleries made gallons of hand sanitizers; however, there was no infrastructure to bottle and distribute it.

In terms of changes to his job, Tyler and his team had many more calls for mental health crises in the community, and it was difficult to maintain covid precautions as you really can’t make a person in the midst of an emotional breakdown put on a mask. Although they tried to keep a distance during calls and have people come out of their homes, that was frequently not possible. In order to try to decrease exposure to the community and officers, they stopped going to assisted living facilities, nursing homes,  and minor car accidents in their route unless they were really needed. One memorable and stressful event for Tyler was providing CPR to a community member who subsequently died, then finding out he was covid positive. Fortunately though, neither Tyler nor his wife, who is a nurse, contracted covid. They also were able to help keep their parents safe by delivering food to their porches, something small he was so glad to be able to do for them. He is so grateful that his family remained healthy and well.