Governor Urges Citizens To Call Police on Neighbors Who Violate Lockdown Order
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown is urging her state’s residents to call the police to report their neighbors for violating her strict coronavirus lockdown restrictions on Thanksgiving.
Brown, a Democrat, last week ordered a two-week “freeze” on many activities.
The Oregonian reported that Brown’s order, intended to curtail the spread of the coronavirus in the state, runs through Dec. 2.
The order closes dine-in seating at restaurants; shuts down gyms, museums and some outdoor facilities; and enacts capacity limits at stores.
In addition, Brown’s order tells Oregonians how many people they can have inside of their own homes.
On Friday, the governor asked her state’s residents to report their neighbors if they violate the mandate.
“This is no different than what happens if there’s a party down the street and it’s keeping everyone awake,” Brown told KGW-TV.
“What do neighbors do [in that case]? They call law enforcement because it’s too noisy. This is just like that. It’s like a violation of a noise ordinance,” she said.
The Democrat also criticized those who are resisting the two-week order, which will last for four weeks in Multnomah County.
One Oregon sheriff’s department, for example, said it would not enforce the order.
“We recognize that we cannot arrest or enforce our way out of the pandemic, and we believe both are counterproductive to public health goals,” the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
We’ve had a number of people contact us asking for an update since the statewide “freeze” went into effect earlier this week. pic.twitter.com/TZWSJT2HdI
— Marion Co. Sheriff (@MCSOInTheKnow) November 20, 2020
In addition, Tootie Smith, chairwoman-elect of the Clackamas County Commission, said in a Facebook post that her family “will celebrate Thanksgiving with as many family and friends as I can find. Governor Brown is WRONG to order otherwise.”
Brown described such talk as “irresponsible.”
“These are politicians seeking headlines, not public servants trying to save lives,” she said. “My top priority as governor is to keep Oregonians healthy and safe. That’s where I’m focused.”
The governor concluded her order is about “saving lives.”
“We have too many sporadic cases in Oregon. We can’t trace these cases to a particular source. We have to limit gatherings and social interactions,” she said.
Brown took to Twitter on Friday to share an article supporting her restrictions on holiday gatherings.
As this @OHSUNews doctor says, a large Thanksgiving gathering would be frankly irresponsible: “It puts people at risk of getting ill; it puts people at risk of coming to our hospital and overwhelming the system.” https://t.co/QncJeqQ8v3
— Governor Kate Brown (@OregonGovBrown) November 20, 2020
Although she is now urging residents to call the police on their neighbors, the governor was among those in the state who blamed supposed racial bias in law enforcement for the country’s social unrest amid nationwide calls to defund police departments.
In an interview in June with The Oregonian, Brown claimed that “the scourge of systematic racism” is connected to police accountability.
Her order limiting business and personal activities was issued just weeks after Oregonians voted to decriminalize drugs such as heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine and methamphetamine, according to CNN.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
