PALM SPRINGS — Four Palm Springs police officers were placed on quarantine for 10 days after being exposed to COVID-19 by a man who spit on them while being detained.
The four responded Saturday night to a report of a man throwing things at vehicles, running in and out of traffic and breaking the window of a truck, the Palm Springs Police Department said in a statement.
Two sergeants and two officers had to physically subdue the man, who resisted, the department said.
The man yelled and spit on the four law enforcement officers during the entire event and also spit all over the back of a police car where he was placed, the department said.
The man, who could not be identified, was taken to a hospital for a mental evaluation. He tested positive for COVID-19 and the officers were notified.
The department said the officers were wearing protective gloves and facemasks but the man’s saliva had to be washed off parts of their bodies and uniforms.
