LR mayor to ban vehicle caravans, warns crowds.
In a warning to residents not to gather amid the covid-19 outbreak, Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. on Monday evening pledged to issue an executive order banning vehicular caravanning.
The mayor said in a statement that he was “deeply disturbed and disappointed” at the “enormous crowds” who gathered over the weekend at an intersection near South University Avenue.
Scott urged residents not to gather in groups of 10 or more, citing a directive from Gov. Asa Hutchinson meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
“Let me make this plain and clear — COVID-19 is not a game. Unfortunately, we are seeing too many people treat this deadly virus as if it is,” Scott said in the statement. He said parks and trails are also experiencing high volumes of visitors.
Local Fox affiliate KLRT-TV on Monday reported that drag racing and drivers performing burnouts over the weekend in a parking lot at the intersection of Asher Avenue and Colonel Glenn Road forced police to shut down part of the street. Videos posted to social media and obtained by the station showed drivers spinning their wheels in the parking lot of the Mosaic Church, KLRT reported.
In his statement, Scott noted that because Hutchinson’s March 11 state of emergency order prevents local governments from establishing any sort of quarantine restrictions on travel or commerce, “we will ramp up our current efforts to ensure the health and safety of our residents.”
Residents loitering in groups of 10 or more “will be fined to the maximum extent of the law,” Scott said. “In addition, I am issuing an executive order to prohibit caravanning, also to carry a maximum fine allowed by law.”
Mayoral spokeswoman Stephanie Jackson told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that Scott first became aware of the weekend crowds because of a call from a constituent, videos posted to social media and a call from the police chief.
The executive order banning caravanning will be released today, she said. When asked about the specific definition of caravanning in the order, Jackson said the measure is intended to prohibit groups of two or more vehicles from following each other to a destination.
“Essentially, it’s going to hopefully deter large groups from wanting to caravan from place to place to hang out,” Jackson said.
Jackson said she believes the mayor’s forthcoming executive order will be permissible under the governor’s state of emergency declaration.
Unlike governors in other states, Hutchinson has so far resisted issuing a shelter-inplace or stay-at-home order, arguing that Arkansas’ more targeted closures of K-12 schools, dine-in restaurants and hair salons are working to flatten the curve of covid-19 infections.
Scott has discussed the possibility of more robust measures for Little Rock with the governor, according to Jackson. “The city of Little Rock is trying to use every creative method possible to be able to issue the types of orders we need to in order to curb people gathering,” Jackson said.
Little Rock police issued four citations for loitering and one citation for reckless driving on Sunday related to the Colonel Glenn and Asher Avenue incident, according to a department spokesman, Lt. Michael Ford. They will be required to go to court and will faces fines set by a judge.
Ford told the Democrat-Gazette on Monday evening that so far he has not read a copy of the executive order from the mayor.
When asked if police plan to take more action or patrol for large gatherings in the wake of the mayor’s warning, Ford said police command staff will meet to discuss the issue.