MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. — The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office says the department will soon give updates on its COVID-19 response.
It's the first news conference after two deputies died earlier this month under undisclosed circumstances.
MCSO announced July 6 that Sgt. Ernie Quintero and Detention Officer Kevin Fletcher had died but did not release their causes of death.
While the update did not further disclose more information on the two officers, it did state that 251 employees are on leave because of COVID-19. As of July 21, 247 employees have tested positive and 122 have recovered and returned to work.
There have been 4,515 inmates tested yielding 1,171 positive results.
MCSO faced criticism and a lawsuit from the ACLU of Arizona over a large spike in cases in the county's jails.
The ACLU was concerned for medically vulnerable people in jails and called for their release and increased safety policies.
