Hot Springs official says police will enforce state mask order

City Manager Bill Burrough said Thursday that the Hot Springs Police Department will enforce the state’s mask order, under the authority of existing criminal code or the authority given to law enforcement to issue citations for noncompliance during the public health emergency.

The joint statement that the city and Garland County issued last week referred to the model Arkansas Municipal League ordinance that the Hot Springs Board of Directors adopted at its July 7 business meeting.

The model ordinance adopted by many cities empowers law enforcement to support businesses that require patrons to wear face coverings.

City Attorney Brian Albright told the board that support could be in the form of a criminal trespass citation for patrons who refuse to comply with the business’s policy or a disorderly conduct charge for those who resist removal by law enforcement.

Two weeks after that measure was adopted, the statewide mask order took effect, empowering law enforcement to write citations assessing fines of $100 to $500 for noncompliance.

“We are definitely going to enforce the order,” Burrough said. “Understanding what the order actually is is another key issue.”

He said the order doesn’t require that face coverings be worn in public at all times. He used the example of a family or members of the same household being within 6 feet of one another, a scenario that doesn’t require masks under the order.

“It’s very hard to determine if you’re driving and you see somebody without a mask or three or four people without a mask whether they’re a family unit or what that might be,” Burrough said, noting that he was unaware of the Police Department citing anyone for noncompliance with the order or the ordinance adopted in support of businesses.

“We don’t have a mask patrol that’s going around looking for someone who’s not wearing a mask or checking inside bars and restaurants. I believe [Alcoholic Beverage Control] is charged with that, but we will certainly act in support.”

Gov. Asa Hutchinson has said local jurisdictions have to decide how they enforce his executive order. Burrough echoed that statement, saying the Police Department will decide how the order and ordinance will be policed.

Hutchinson “said he expects people to do the right thing, and we do to,” Burrough said. “If we see a situation to where we have a large group of people who aren’t wearing their masks, we’re going to address that. I think how we address that is dependent upon the situation. I’ll leave that to our law enforcement officers to make that call.

“We know and believe that using masks and social distancing are the keys to lowering exposure to covid-19, so we’re certainly going to enforce that,” he said.