2 deputies face probe over photo at eatery defying rules
Two Allegheny County sheriff’s deputies are in quarantine and facing an investigation after they were seen posing for a photograph at a restaurant that was open in defiance of the state’s recent restriction on indoor dining.
The picture was posted on social media accounts for the Crack’D Egg, a Brentwood diner that has consistently flouted COVID-19-related restrictions for months. In the photo, the two deputies pose with the business’s owner, Kimberly Waigand, inside the restaurant, which hosted a full dining room on Saturday. The deputies were not wearing masks.
A caption accompanying the photo on Twitter read: “We #backtheblue because they’ve got our back too”
“We were made aware of this situation late [Sunday] morning and we immediately looked into it,” Chief Deputy Kevin Kraus said. “Based on our preliminary findings, those two deputies have been reassigned. They’ve been placed in quarantine for 14 days and they’ve been notified that an internal investigation has been issued.”
“We are going to take swift action if our findings show [the deputies] were in violation in any way,” he said. “There will be appropriate action taken to address this situation. The deputies do have a due process and we respect that, but if they are found in violation in any way, we do not condone it and will act accordingly.”
Chief Kraus said he could not identify the deputies citing a personnel issue.
He stressed that the Sheriff’s Department has been “proactive in issuing policies directives and reminders that we are tasked to enforce that people remain compliant with the COVID guidelines at county courthouse.”
“We don’t condone any deputy that violates a health order from the governor, the county executive or any health agency.”
At a news conference Thursday, Pennsylvania
Gov. Tom Wolf suspended indoor dining and drinking at restaurants and bars throughout the commonwealth, one of several measures of mitigation put in place to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. The virus spreads more easily in confined indoor settings with low ventilation.
The state has seen an exponential increase in cases over the past month and a dramatic increase in deaths from a disease that has killed over 300,000 Americans to date, including more than 12,000 Pennsylvanians.
The Crack’D Egg defied the state’s order and opened on Saturday, and posted pictures from a full dining room as well as the one with the two deputies. Its Facebook page indicated that the restaurant would host a brunch with “Santa” on Sunday.
From Monday through Saturday of this week, the restaurant is holding a toy drive with local members of the Proud Boys, a male-only right-wing extremist group known to incite violence at protests. On Saturday night in Washington, D.C., four people were stabbed in brawls between the Proud Boys and other protesters.
No one answered a call to the Crack’d Egg, and the business appeared to be closed when a reporter went to the restaurant on Sunday afternoon.
Ms. Waigand told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in October that she continues to believe that the virus is not as deadly as experts say and face coverings are not effective.
“We’re not living in fear,” she said. “We have faith in God and we’re not living in fear. We have our immune systems.”
She believes the mask mandate is “fear mongering” and “an agenda,” however she did not specify what the agenda is.
In September, Allegheny County filed an emergency injunction request to shut the restaurant down for continuing to operate in violation of state orders on mitigating COVID- 19. The county Health Department ordered the restaurant closed on Aug. 11, but it continued to operate without observing any of the restrictions imposed by the state.
Ms. Waigand then filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the health department after the eatery was shut down for ignoring COVID-19 face-covering rules.
The restaurant subsequently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October and continues to operate while it undergoes financial reorganization.