AN ABOUT-FACE
Now, not wearing mask won’t get you busted
The NYPD has taken its social distancing enforcement down a notch, nixing arrests and tickets for violators who venture out without masks, Mayor de Blasio said Friday.
Police will only take action against people not wearing face coverings f there is a serious danger to the public, the mayor said.
“We do not in any way, shape or form want to slide backwards and undermine that precious bond that has been growing and improving between police and community,” de Blasio said at his daily coronavirus briefing. “We do not want to revive the mistakes of the past.”
The mayor said the change will refocus police on “deepening the bond between police and community” to help “overcome that horribly divided past, helping to overcome the structural racism that pervaded this city.”
The NYPD had come under fire after data revealed that blacks and Hispanics were given summonses and arrested far more often than any other ethnic group as cops enforce social distancing and mandatory face coverings in public to stop the spread of the virus.
The change also comes after a video went viral this week showing cops arresting a mom for not wearing a face mask on a Brooklyn subway Wednesday — as her young child watched the struggle.
Earlier this month, another video showed a cop who threatened a bystander with a Taser and then punched him to the ground as he watched a drug arrest that started as a social distancing stop.
De Blasio said the city has to balance “a very complex equation” in enforcing social distancing, stressing “health and safety come first.”
Cops will continue to enforce a ban on non-essential gatherings, with dispersing groups of six or more adults their priority.
“If we never need to take any additional enforcement action other than the NYPD showing up and people leaving, that’s the ideal by far,” de Blasio said. “Summonses are an available tool and they will be given if people do not disperse, but the goal is to not even get to the point of summons, just to make sure that large gatherings don’t happen.”
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea wrote in a message to the department Friday morning that police will continue to distribute masks and face coverings to those who need them and reminded New Yorkers to “always wear them in public” — and how doing so will save lives.
“Moving forward, however, we will no longer issue summonses or make arrests for infractions related to face coverings — absent of a crime or other violation being committed,” Shea wrote, adding that “the NYPD will continue to enforce the Mayor’s Executive Order banning non-essential gatherings, and will disperse groups that are unable, or unwilling, to practice responsible social distancing.”
Earlier this week, Shea forcefully defended his department against racism charges.
An NYPD spokesperson added that the new directive “is essential as the men and women of the NYPD are committed to deepening the trust and partnership that they’ve worked so hard to build.”
But the move was immediately blasted by the Police Benevolent Association.
“Another policy full of caveats and exceptions will create more problems than it solves,” PBA President Pat Lynch said. “The new policy should be a single sentence: police officers are not responsible for enforcing social distancing or other public health directives.”