District Attorney vows to continue prosecutions despite Covid-19 case

July 13, 2020

Collins Parker,

CLEVELAND, Tennessee (WDEF) -District Attorney Steve Crump says his office will not give in to fear over the Covid-19 virus.

Crump’s office prosecutes cases for Bradley, McMinn, Monroe and Polk Counties.

On Monday, he announced that one member of his staff has tested positive.

Six staffers have tested negative and one is still waiting on results.

His staff has been working remotely in the meantime.

DA Crump says the infected staff member was not exposed at work.

He says his office has been taking sanitation precautions and wearing masks in court.

But the District Attorney’s office is NOT closing.

“What we are NOT doing is panicking. This is a time for calm. This disease has killed those who are vulnerable to it. But the percentage of deaths and hospitalizations is dropping. Maybe the increasing number of cases is from people being out and together. Maybe the numbers are from increased testing. Maybe both. No one really knows. Fear tells us we should shrink back, lock ourselves away and just wait for “all this to pass.” However, we should not cower to this disease or fear. We will report for work. We will continue to serve the public. We will keep our side of the docket moving and do our jobs. We will keep living our lives.”