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Tasha Davis-Wilson; photo courtesy of the Jefferson Jimplecute
By LACY GROSS and TIM EMMONS for The Atlanta Citizens Journal
Editors Note: This is an ongoing news story. We are in the process of vetting multiple sources of information. We spoke to Constable Wilson on Wednesday. She told us that she did not disclose her diagnosis to the judge in Marion County because he is not her boss and didn't feel it necessary because she claims to have had no contact with the residents of Marion County. Wilson said she followed the 15-day quarantine protocol. We made no assertion that Constable Wilson concealed her illness from Queen City Police Department. In his statement as seen below, Marion County Judge Leward LaFleur strongly feels that Wilson did conceal her illness from Marion County. Also seen below is a press release from Queen City's Chief of Police, in its entirety, detailing the great lengths his department went to manage the incident.properly. According to a press release by Queen City Police Department, Constable Wilson communicated in a timely fashion.
A Marion County Constable, who also works as a Queen City police officer, tested positive for COVID-19 and allegedly had been withholding it from the Marion County Judge.
According to Constable Tashia Wilson, she is not required to disclose her diagnosis to the judge.
Wilson posted on her Facebook page on Tuesday, "I BEAT THE CORONAVIRUS". It has since been deleted.
Marion County Judge Leward J. LaFleur responded on his Facebook page to the reporting of the revelation by the Jefferson Jimplecute.
“I pray Constable Wilson is on the mend and that she hasn’t exposed anyone else by keeping this a secret”, LaFleur said, “We all need to pray for her and anyone she’s come into contact with! Our county has fought hard to keep COVID-19 out of Marion County, I wish she would have reached out to us and asked for help because we would have rallied behind her!”
“It may have potentially saved lives and the wellness of others. I will not comment further until I have facts, I will not feed the sensationalizing of this outlet who claims to have already spoken with the Constable and yet doesn’t add that content to this story!”
On Wednesday, Queen City Chief of Police Robert W. McGee issued the following press release.
“We are adhering to CDC guidelines in dealing with this situation. The officer has been off work since showing signs of the virus.
Queen City Officers have been advised when dealing with the public to do so at a safe distance. Of course, there are times that we are forced to come into contact with citizens and when we do, we are taking every precaution possible not only to protect the Citizens but, our Officers and employees from contamination.
The City Hall has been on lockdown from the time we became aware of any Officer possibly having signs of COVID-19, or any symptom related to this virus.
All Queen City employees are required to check their temperature on a regular basis and keep a record of the results. We are disinfecting all areas of work, anyone running a high temperature will be sent home and advised to seek medical attention immediately. No one is allowed to return to work without a Medical approval.
The Officer tested positive does not live in Cass County therefore, the medical facility that ran the test did not report this to Cass County as a COVID case. However, we feel it is important that the Public are aware that we too must take precautions in our duties as Police Officers in an attempt to stem the flow of this virus.
Our mission has always been to, “Put ourselves between our Citizens and Harms Way”, and we will continue to do so. Please bear with us while we deal with this situation.
We will continue to furnish Public Service even though we are having to do it a little different.”
For more Cass County news, visit https://www.casscountynow.com/
*An earlier version of this story misspelled the constable's name as "Tashia" when it is spelled "Tasha." This updated story reflects the correct spelling.