UPDATED: Warwick Police Union Issues Blistering Rebuke of Raimondo Mask Order & Enforcement Policy
Friday, May 08, 2020
The Warwick Police union sent a blistering letter to Governor Gina Raimondo asserting that Warwick Police will not be used to enforce Raimondo’s executive order requiring Rhode Islanders to wear masks.
The Executive Order goes into effect Friday.
“We draw the line at the draconian measures Governor Raimondo has chosen to include in her Executive Order of mandating that all people wear masks in public under the threat of civil penalties being issued to them. Our officers work every single day to bridge the gap with our community and earn their trust. We will not stand idly by and allow Governor Raimondo’s overreaching Order to tear that bridge down, and we will certainly not be a part of it by enforcing this Order against our community,” said Jedidiah Pineau, President of the Warwick Fraternal Order Of Police Lodge 7, in the letter.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTRaimondo announced earlier this week that she would be signing the Executive Order director Rhode Islanders to wear face coverings in public — starting Friday.
“I’m signing an Executive Order - everyone in a public place must wear a cloth face covering,” said Raimondo on Tuesday. “There will be exceptions.” She also said there will also be enforcement.
The Warwick FOP letter went on to say the union believes that people should wear masks and that the coronavirus is a threat to public health, but was highly critical of the tone by Raimondo and other elected officials, especially Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza who called for the public shaming of people who do not wear masks.
Thursday night the Raimondo administration responded to GoLocal, but did not specifically address the Warwick FOP's concerns.
“Wearing a face mask in public is a critical step we can all take to prevent the spread of this virus, and it’s important that everyone comply with this order. Of course, we understand that there are some people who cannot, such as those with asthma or other conditions and young children, and the Executive Order provides for these exceptions. But for all those who can wear a mask, this is a public health directive and it is legally enforceable,” said Josh Block, Press Secretary to Raimondo
“We are reminding our officers that they have DISCRETION in matters such as these, and they should utilize their critical thinking skills. The last thing any of us need to do is to kick the community when they are down. People are already scared and hurting financially in these COVID-19 times, so we will not support enforcing financial or other civil penalties just for not wearing a mask in public, and we will not support enforcing an Order that is likely to incite fear and anger in our community, and possible confrontation. We absolutely do not condone the words of Providence Mayor [Jorge] Elorza of public shaming people, or Governor Raimondo of ‘nudging’ people to comply,” said Pineau's letter.
Further, the letter cited the policies in Texas and Ohio that encourage masks, but do not put the burden on the police to enforce the executive orders.
“Perhaps our State should follow the direction provided by the Governor of Ohio and the Governor of Texas, who both strongly encourage people to wear face masks in public, but drew the line there and chose to prevent mandatory face mask policies which carry financial penalties and police enforcement,” said the letter.
“We need reasonable solutions to the problem, not pitting the hardworking police officers of this state against otherwise law-abiding citizens. For the longest time we have advocated for inclusiveness of all persons, regardless of their personal disadvantages. An order such as this calls that into question, and forces the police to stop and inquire of individuals why they are not wearing a mask; potentially forcing them to reveal personal health information that is unwarranted and downright illegal, and also increasing any fear and anger that already exist in the community. There are many reasons a person may not be wearing a mask due to health or sensory issues. To call out individuals based on a disability or health condition is wrong,” states the letter.
"The virus is real and it is infectious, there’s no denying that. However, as of today (5/7/20) we have a cumulative percentage of our RI population at 0.99% infected with approximately half of those infected recovered already, and a total death percentage of our population of 0.04%. Every death is unfortunate and we express our condolences to those who have lost loved ones. However, the percent of our population infected does not warrant turning our great state into a police state," stated the letter to Raimondo.
This story was first published 5/7/20 5:29 PM Updated 5/8/20 5:50 AM
