Many police departments say going after people who don’t wear masks simply isn’t a priority, despite rules requiring them
By Jim Carlton Close Jim Carlton July 17, 2020 5:30 am ET SACRAMENTO—Just a few days after California Gov. Gavin Newsom introduced rules to make wearing a mask outside the home mandatory in most situations, a sheriff’s deputy here in the state capital watched people in a grocery store walk by with their faces uncovered and did nothing.
Some of the defiance is driven by political opposition and even disbelief of public-health officials’ advice that masks help prevent the spread of the virus.“Enforcement of people not wearing face-coverings in public would be very challenging and detract the few crucial resources we have,” said Ronald Lawrence, the police chief of Citrus Heights, Calif., a Sacramento suburb. His agency is one of many in the area, including the Sacramento County sheriff, to announce it wouldn’t enforce Mr.
“This is so broad-based almost anything could be seen as in violation, so they could be accused of selective enforcement,” Ms. Jacobs said. “If they are simply unwilling to do it, then we will redirect those dollars to communities that are,” the Democrat said. The state hasn’t followed through on the governor’s threat.
A small number of communities, including the Los Angeles-area cities of Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and West Hollywood, have instituted fines as high as $500 for people in public without face coverings. But Beverly Hills has only issued one citation so far, while the other two have issued none, according to spokespeople, instead relying entirely on warnings.
Police in Citrus Heights, Calif., a city of about 90,000 people, are giving free face coverings to local businesses, handing out 13,100 to 52 establishments so far. “The pandemic has created fear and anxiety, making a soft and collaborative approach important for us to ensure our community remains our partners to embrace solutions,” Chief Lawrence said.
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