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When COVID-19 swept into North Jersey 10 months ago, it struck the Hawthorne Police Department particularly hard. Almost a third of the squad s 34 officers fell ill almost at once, sending then-Chief Richard McAuliffe into a mad scramble to stagger schedules, change shifts and keep his officers away from each other. That was the worst of it current Chief James Knepper said only a few officers have caught the virus since. But the spring disaster made an imprint. And now that the vaccine is available to law enforcement, he’s encouraging his officers to get it as soon as they can. But he won t order them. ....