I have recently heard from people who are frustrated and want to re-open their businesses, and from groups who want to congregate. I don’t blame them. Believe me, we customers need those businesses as much as they need us. Schools are closed, day cares shuttered, sit-down restaurants, hair and nail salons, taverns, and many other small businesses are hurting…some may never recover from this.
To be sure, everyone is suffering to some degree. Police officers also have vulnerable family members that we can’t visit because we might be carrying a virus that could be deadly to them. Like you, we also have family members and friends that are out of work and are struggling to make ends meet. Some of us, like you have missed the death of family members, or births of children, and graduations.
We get it. We understand wanting to get back to a normal life, but we have to balance the economic suffering of our businesses and employees with the need to protect the physical health of all our citizens. If businesses re-open earlier than the health authorities allow, we may well drag out this closure much longer than if we just held on a little longer. Do you really want to be the one that causes these restrictions to last longer than necessary?
Please lean on your family and friends for help, and don’t put your police officers in the position to have to enforce the Stay at Home orders from the Governor. As a reminder, your police officers have the authority to enforce RCW 43.06.220 (5) which makes it a gross misdemeanor to willfully violate the order issued by the Governor. Please don’t put them in that position. Keep you and your family safe, do not gather in groups outside your household of more than four, and dig in a little longer. This is a strong community and we will survive this, but we have to work together.
Citizens wishing to submit a complaint about activities that do not comply with the Governor’s Stay Home, Stay Healthy order may do so by using the department’s anonymous tip form and officers will follow up as priorities allow. Please do not call emergency or non-emergency dispatch for these complaints.