By Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


The issue of police enforcement when it comes to latest Michigan’s COVID-19 mask requirements came up during Monday night’s virtual Howell City Council meeting.

There are now penalties for not following a facial covering mandate in Michigan under a new executive order issued by Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The order reiterates that individuals are required to wear a face covering whenever they are in an indoor public space. It also requires the use of face coverings in crowded outdoor spaces. The order requires any business that is open to the public to refuse entry or service to people who refuse to wear a face covering, with limited exceptions. Those who don’t comply could face a misdemeanor and a $500 fine. Whitmer has said law enforcement agencies across the state need to enforce the law.

At Monday’s Council meeting, Howell Mayor Nick Proctor questioned how their department would best, if at all, enforce the new order.

Councilman Dr. Bob Ellis said he thinks it’s important the mask requirement be enforced and now there’s a tool for citations to be issued. He noted his daughter has a store in the Brighton area and often people will come in without masks and she has to try and enforce the order. Ellis said he thought having the backup of the Governor’s order with enforcement capability is very helpful and found it very disappointing Livingston County Sheriff Mike Murphy indicated they won’t be involved in enforcement. For merchants in Howell, Ellis said he thinks having the police have their back and help keep them safe is very important. Dr. Ellis is a retired physician who held board certifications in pediatrics, hematology/oncology, and psychiatry. He commented further that there has been lot discussion in medical community about facial coverings and the consensus has been that there really isn’t any significant number of people who would actually have a medical exception. He said that would basically apply to people with severe conditions on oxygen tanks but most anyone else could tolerate masks. Ellis said for Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, a business would need to make reasonable accommodations, meaning a person could stay outside of a store and an employee could bring them what they want.

WHMI asked Sheriff Murphy about Ellis' comments, to which he responded, "Howell city, or any other municipality that has its own police agency, can do what they want regarding EO enforcement. For the unincorporated areas, I made the decision to not investigate, respond to or investigate EO violations on May 12th. There are numerous other enforcement agencies (AG’s office, State Health Department, and MIOSHA) that can use their resources to enforce the EO’s if they choose. We will not, and I stand by that decision."

Howell Police Chief Scott Mannor told Council they’ll enforce the order but not in any extreme sense. He stated the department will certainly enforce the order if they got dispatched to something but they’re not going to be out hunting and patrolling for people who aren’t wearing masks. Mannor says it they get dispatched to a business, then they’ll go deal with the situation appropriately. He said the same goes for City Hall when people come in not wearing masks. Mannor says they’ll offer them one but some people just don’t want to wear them and again, they would go handle that appropriately as well. Mannor added it’s still appropriate to not wear a mask in public outdoors if people can properly social distance but if not, face coverings are required. He agreed with some comments made that the various executive orders issued contradict themselves - saying the orders get changed and are difficult to follow. As far as face coverings, Mannor said the department will deal with issues appropriately when dispatched.

Mayor Pro-Tem Steve Manor commented that a number of merchants are very happy the Governor issued the order because they want to protect their employees as other customers. He agreed police shouldn’t be out patrolling for masks but said if they get a call or see a situation where people are willfully violating the order, then he would expect police to enforce the law and write a ticket. Manor added he thought a few tickets would send a clear message to people who don’t want to follow the norms. Manor added he was also impressed by community compliance when out on Monday, saying he was in two major big box stores and maybe one person wasn’t wearing a mask. He said he was impressed with the willingness of people in the stores, acknowledging that it was purely anecdotal but still indicative to him. Manor said it was much different than last week when he was in some stores and there was a noticeable number of people without any masks on. He commented further the country has a huge problem with the virus and everyone needs to do whatever they can to limit the spread. Manor said he doesn’t know if it can be contained or not anymore but they need to protect people as best they can.

Mayor Nick Proctor commented that his concern is related to businesses that are on the front line and having to ask that masks be worn because some people refuse to wear them. Proctor said he’s worried about business owners being put in a very contentious position but still need to continue asking people wear masks. With law enforcement, he felt police should respond if a business is having a problem with someone and try to diffuse situation by using their discretion or issuing a citation. Proctor said a lot of stress will be on business owners and he hopes people can see the necessity of wearing a mask indoors and complying with the executive order. AP Photo.