‘A real safety risk’: Raleigh police officers stopped driver without wearing masks
Two unmasked Raleigh police officers were photographed approaching a driver during a traffic stop Sunday, prompting comments from the police chief and mayor.
It’s not the first time Raleigh officers have been photographed not wearing masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. The News & Observer photographed unmasked officers during the summer protests against police brutality.
The apparent traffic stop occurred near the intersection of North Raleigh Boulevard and Barksdale Drive at 11 a.m. Sunday and was photographed by Sue Sturgis, a former reporter for The News & Observer, who posted a photo on Facebook.
While difficult to see in the photos, the driver was wearing a mask, she said in an interview with The N&O.
“I find it outrageous we have public servants who are not wearing masks amid this pandemic,” Sturgis said. “And I feel it is something that needs to be addressed immediately.”
Drivers shouldn’t be forced into a situation that poses a “real safety risk,” Sturgis said.
“You are being asked to choose between two equally dangerous things,” she said. “Am I going to not respect the officers and not listen to what they are saying to me, or am I going to roll my window down and potentially be exposed to a deadly virus. That’s the dilemma motorists are being put in. And it’s wildly wrong. It’s so wrong.”
Police chief says officers should wear masks
Sturgis emailed the police chief and the Raleigh City Council about the traffic stop Sunday.
“Thank you for sharing this with me,” Police Chief Cassandra Deck-Brown replied in an email to Sturgis. “They are expected to wear it as well. We will address this immediately.”
The N&O on Monday requested a copy of the Police Department’s mask policy, the repercussions for violating it, how many officers had been reprimanded for violations and a copy of any incident report from the Sunday traffic stop.
A Police Department spokesperson told The N&O in June that officers were not required to wear a face mask when social distancing was possible or when religious beliefs or a medical condition prevent them from wearing a mask.
The traffic-stop image was also shared on Twitter by Mark Turner who also compiled tweets highlighting people asking the Police Department’s official Twitter account why officers weren’t wearing masks.
“The driver was not at liberty to move away and the officer was in the driver’s face without a mask,” Turner said in a Twitter direct message. “It does not seem right to expose the public in this way, especially knowing that people of color are at greater risk and this stop occurred in an area of Raleigh hit hardest by the epidemic. At the same time, COVID-19 has become the leading cause of death of law enforcement officers. Wearing a mask protects everyone.”
The stop occurred in the 27610 ZIP code which has the most coronavirus cases of any ZIP code in the state.
Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin responded to Turner’s tweet, saying the police chief will be addressing the issue.
“All city employees should wear masks as outlined in the governor’s order,” she said in a follow-up text message to The N&O.
This story was originally published November 30, 2020 at 3:27 PM.
