ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The majority of officers assigned to a St. Louis police district called out sick on Wednesday, causing ripple effects across the city, according to police sources.
The department confirmed it’s been forced to spread officers from a nearby district because of the shortage of officers during the second shift Wednesday night.
The FOX Files is not identifying the district because the shortage may affect the safety of officers.
During the significant shortage, a man was killed in a double shooting on Osage and an officer in need of aid call was a couple blocks away.
At the homicide scene, several district cars from across the city were at the location.
“Anytime there’s an incident that draws a lot of attention from the public, those usually require more police resources than normal,” St. Louis Police Lieutenant Matthew Karnowski said. “So, we are in a situation where we are utilizing the assistance of districts outside this particular district, but I’m not going to comment on manpower issues.”
A police spokesman said the commander of the Central Patrol Division has requested assistance from the Mobile Reserve Unit, which can assist in patrolling the district as well as handling radio assignments.