The New York Times reports:
New York City police officials instructed all officers to wear masks in public or risk discipline, as the department faces mounting criticism over officers' failure to comply with a state mandate that people wear face coverings in public when social distancing is not possible.
The Police Department's directive, issued on Friday in memos and a video, came after elected officials repeatedly called out the police for flouting the mask mandate they are supposed to enforce.
Fox News also notes:
Officers must also wear appropriate and proper face masks rather than scarves, bandanas or handkerchiefs. Exceptions are allowed for when officers are eating or drinking, or if the officers have a "breathing condition."
Exceptions do not apply, though, to "members of the service returning from a state or country with a travel advisory," who "must wear a face covering at all times while working for 14 days after returning" – a seeming contradiction of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's executive order 205, which requires residents arriving from states with a travel advisory to quarantine for 14 days upon return.
At least there's discipline and accountability for some police actions for once.
N.Y.P.D. Warns Officers: Wear Your Masks [Ashley Southall and Michael Gold / New York Times]
Image: Nick Allen / Flickr (CC 2.0)