Raleigh police told to put on masks in crowds, but didn’t always wear them at protests
On Friday evening, wearing a mask in public became a requirement for Raleigh residents as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to spread throughout the state.
In the order, law enforcement officers are “strongly encouraged to educate and encourage voluntary compliance.”
But when people gathered at the State Capitol on Friday evening for a protest that would end in the tearing down of two Confederate statues, they were met by a number of officers who weren’t wearing masks.
Officers instructed to wear masks
The emergency proclamation by Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin requires everyone in the city to wear a face covering that goes over the mouth and nose whenever they are “in contact with other people who are not household members in public or private spaces where it is not possible to maintain social distance or where recommended social distancing practices are not being followed.”
Baldwin said residents who don’t wear a mask wouldn’t be fined or arrested, The News & Observer previously reported. She said she sees this as an opportunity to “educate the public.”
Photos taken by N&O staff during Juneteenth protests Friday showed officers didn’t always follow the order.
At one point, officers stood in a large group, many wearing light blue masks.
But another time, officers in a smaller group stood in the street without any sort of face coverings.
A Raleigh Police Department spokesperson told The N&O Tuesday evening that while officers aren’t always required to wear a face covering, they are instructed to do so in places where it’s not possible to maintain social distance.
“Where it is possible to maintain social distancing, and when religious beliefs or a medical condition may prevent them from wearing a face mask, officers (as well as the public) are not required to wear them,” Donna-maria Harris wrote in an email.
But at least two officers weren’t wearing masks as they stood in front of the 75-foot tall Confederate monument — which would be fully removed Wednesday morning — even as protesters shouted and moved around them Friday.
Harris said “the situation was addressed with our two officers later that evening.”
Baldwin’s office and a spokesperson for the city of Raleigh were asked for comment on the issue, but they deferred to the police department.
A recent ABC News report about requirements in nine police departments — including Minneapolis, New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago — found just three of them require officers wear face masks and gloves while working at protests.
The other departments asked that their officers wear personal protective equipment, but didn’t mandate it. The report said a New York Police Department spokesperson told ABC News: “officers are directed to wear masks whenever possible.”
Photographs taken by N&O staff at protests last weekend and in recent weeks have also shown a mix of protesters wearing and not wearing masks.
Research shows importance of masks
Many state officials and researchers have stressed the importance of masks in the past couple weeks, as coronavirus numbers and hospitalizations across the state continue to increase.
A recent UNC-Chapel Hill study found that the coronavirus infects the cells in the nose much more easily than those in the throat and lungs, The N&O previously reported.
Wearing masks “really is a two-fer,” said Dr. Richard Boucher, a senior researcher at the UNC School of Medicine. “You’re protecting yourself and you’re protecting somebody else from you transmitting something in an asymptomatic phase.”
On Wednesday, Cooper announced a statewide mask requirement.
“We’re adding this new requirement because we don’t want to go backward,” Cooper said. “We want to stabilize our numbers so we can continue to safely ease restrictions, and most importantly, get our children back in school.”
“I urge everyone to be a leader in wearing face coverings,” Cooper said.
