Springfield police plan to crack down on violations of mask ordinance

BRANSON MO NEWS:

Five months after Springfield first adopted an ordinance requiring adults to wear face masks in most indoor public settings, local law enforcement officers have now written their first citation.

Thursday, the Springfield-Branson National Airport Police Department issued a ticket to an airline employee who was unmasked at the facility for the second day in a row, according to airport spokesman Kent Boyd.

Officials say Thursday’s ticket almost certainly won’t be the last.

Jasmine Bailey, spokeswoman for the Springfield Police Department (which is not affiliated with the airport police), said the department is changing how it responds to mask ordinance violations.

Springfield police officers wear masks at a crime scene.

Until now, reported violations of the masking ordinance — there have been more than 1,400 — resulted in officers handing out educational fliers that served as warnings instead of issuing citations.

Now, with new cases of COVID-19 on the rise, police say they will start writing tickets to people violating the masking ordinance.

Public health experts have said masks help slow the spread of COVID-19 by protecting wearers from virus-laden droplets in the air, as well as preventing infected people from exposing others.

In a news release this week, Springfield City Manager Jason Gage said the area’s hospitals have been struggling to keep up with the number of COVID-19 cases, and city leadership is now encouraging officers to issue tickets to violators of the masking ordinance (who can then choose to take their cases to court).

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“We have taken an educational approach first, so it is safe to say that the community is fully aware of the requirements,” Gage said. “It is time to step up efforts and send a clear message that those not in compliance will be ticketed.

“We are entering into the most deadly phase of the pandemic, and ensuring masking compliance is the least we can do to preserve our hospital capacity and to protect our older friends and family members and those with medical conditions.”

As of Friday morning, Springfield Police Department officers had not yet issued any citations.

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