Santa Cruz police prepare to enforce Shelter in Place order after clock tower gathering

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION) Police in Santa Cruz said they will enforce the Shelter in Place order in effect after a gathering at the clock tower Monday night.

Police said the enforcement policy is to educate first, engage personally and then enforce the state law and local ordinance. So far three people have been cited for not complying.

Police Chief Andy Mills said one of the reasons the department is starting to enforce is a gathering that happened Monday night where there was no social distancing. Mills said Food Not Bombs and others gathered, and during that time, Mills said some shared cigarettes and did not sanitize their hands.

Food Not Bombs is a group that provides free vegan or vegetarian meals.

"Mass gatherings such as this cannot continue as it puts all Santa Cruzans at risk... Gathering in large groups is reckless, irresponsible and is a crime we enforce," Mills wrote in a statement.

Mills said he, the Mayor and the City Manager told the group to move to a larger area and practice social distancing and hand sanitation, but said the group ignored them. Mills has since sent the leader of Food Not Bombs a cease and desist letter warning him about the consequences of holding mass gatherings, especially ones that involve vulnerable people. The CDC said the homeless are vulnurable and at risk for coronavirus.

Keith McHenry, who reached out to KION and provided a letter he said he received from Mills, said the city ordered Food Not Bombs to stop serving food without talking to the organization or negotiating.

"We are happy to move to another location but only after we are able to
let people know where that will be and that it be close to our kitchen
at the Veterans Memorial Building. The proposed relocation area is flooded," McHenry said.

McHenry wrote to KION that 400 people are expected to go to the clock tower area Tuesday to look for hotel rooms the group was planning to provide, but he now expects police action.

He also took issue with how the city and police have handled homelessness during the coronavirus pandemic.

"Mayor Justin Cummings, City Manager Martin Bernal, City Attorny Tony
Condotti and Police Chief Andy Mills all failed to address the COVID-19
crisis letting people sleep 8 inches apart in the Salvation Army Shelter
on Laurel, spend untold thousands on a triage program that resulted in
16 people getting hotel rooms and failed to provide portable toilets,
refused to place unhoused people in hotel rooms and has no plan to feed
the hundreds of people without access to food including those 16 they
placed in Motel Santa Cruz," McHenry said.

Mills said the city has put out more portable toilets and handwashing stations around the city and offered space that is better for sanitation and separation to those camping near the post office. After nearly all accepted, Mills said they were moved from the post office and helped by volunteers.

"Cooperation and collaboration are essential to effectiveness... each person was systematically supported and placed into hotels for separation and isolation," Mills said.

Another incident Mills wrote about involved someone bringing a golf cart to a closed golf course and others using sticks as flag posts on the greens. He said the fines for those types of violations can be as much as $1,000.

"What is most concerning to me is that a few people are putting the greater community at risk. Police staff members have thousands of contacts each day. We don't need more during this pandemic. Policing during a crisis is tough enough, without people willing to violate the law for personal desires," Mills wrote.

Santa Cruz police ask that residents do their part by not exposing officers to people unnecessarily and avoiding large gatherings.

The Santa Cruz Police Department is not the only law enforcement agency that has seen issues with people complying with the Shelter in Place order. Santa Cruz police along with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office, Watsonville police, Capitola police and Scotts Valley police have focused on educating the public, but have received dozens of calls every day from people reporting gatherings or non-essential businesses that are still open.

Violating the order is a misdemeanor punishable by fine, imprisonment or both. The Santa Cruz County Law Enforcement Chiefs Association said it has told officers and deputies to contact those violating the order to ask them to comply, but enforce the order if they do not.

“We are thankful most people are complying, and we understand this causes frustration, but it’s all for the safety of our community,” said Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jim Hart. “While we don’t want to resort to citations or arrests, if we don’t see people take this seriously, we’ll have to.”

Read the letter from the Santa Cruz County Law Enforcement Chiefs Association below.