Sheriff’s deputy navigated uncharted territory during COVID-19 pandemic

Part of Deputy Tomas Flores’ job with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office involves responding to domestic incidents.

That became a challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic when guidance discouraged even entering a home.

“We were told, don’t go inside the house unless absolutely necessary,” Flores said.

It was one of many changes law enforcement officers faced during the early months of the pandemic five years ago. Handling domestic cases under lockdown proved perplexing, but perhaps ultimately beneficial.

“We had to talk people into being more understanding of each other,” said Flores, 50.

“You have to figure this out,” he would tell them, “because there was nowhere to go.”

A 19-year sheriff’s office veteran, Flores’ training never prepared him for the oddities of the pandemic, including patrolling barren highways and creating makeshift home decontamination chambers.

“I look back at it and I’m like, ‘How the heck did we do it?’ Flores said.

“I feel like it just became the norm. You went through it and eventually it changed again.”

Early into the pandemic, Flores said the instruction was “to stay away from each other.”

With social distancing, roll call at his Libertyville headquarters was suspended. Flores and fellow officers would come in, fuel their vehicles and head out.

“We didn’t have the interaction …” he said. “Typically, we had roll call every day, but we didn’t have roll call at all for a few months. You could go several days without seeing your partner.

“This was early on. Little by little as more information was coming out we’d gather at parking lots. We’d just stand outside and catch up,” Flores said.

During the height of the pandemic, he patrolled the Gurnee, Grayslake and Lindenhurst areas between routes 12 and 41.

While traffic volume dropped, drivers drove faster. Traffic accidents were “more catastrophic” and injuries more severe, Flores said, due to the high speeds.

Many of the schools deputies might normally visit had closed, and property crimes diminished with more people at home. In response, Flores and other Lake County law enforcement officers would often drive to a park or a parking lot simply to retain a presence, he said.

“It definitely turned into a sit-and-wait until we went out there driving around, trying to deter stuff,” Flores said.

Back home after a shift, Flores removed everything he had worn and left it in the garage before swiftly hitting the showers. The next morning he’d wear fresh clothes into the garage and change back into his uniform.

“It was kind of like a ‘decon’ station in my garage. Lots of Lysol. To this day I still carry Lysol in my car — disinfectant, wipes, all over the place,” he said.

Isolation from fellow officers was hard to handle. When Flores eventually caught COVID, twice, he felt even more estranged during his home quarantines. That felt foreign — officers worked through sickness all the time.

Flores learned to step gingerly with people who “had their own opinions” on the use of face masks and on COVID-19 itself. But by May 2021, when he closed on a new house in an actual office, there appeared to be a light at the end of the tunnel.

“It seemed like hope,” he said.

While the pandemic presented surprising and difficult moments on the job, Flores maintained the motto, to serve and protect.

“Overall, the majority, in difficult times we do come together,” Flores said. “There’s always going to be those outliers that don’t want to work together.

“In our line of work, I feel that if we’re respectful of both, we’re still able to get our job done.”