Possibility of mask mandate in Laramie County raises questions over enforcement
Possibility of mask mandate in Laramie County raises questions over enforcement
By Tom Coulter
Wyoming Tribune Eagle
Via Wyoming News Exchange
CHEYENNE – A mask mandate in many indoor public spaces may soon be a reality in Laramie County, after the local Board of Health directed the county’s public health officer to draft one last week.
The order, which will be reviewed during a special Cheyenne-Laramie County Board of Health meeting Tuesday, could quickly take effect if approved by both the county and state public health officers. If in line with the one passed in Teton County, a local order would likely require residents to wear masks when inside any retail or commercial business, when obtaining health care and when using public transit.
But how exactly such a mandate would be enforced remains to be decided, according to local law enforcement.
Officials in Laramie County have only one in-state example to go by: Teton County, which implemented a mask requirement in July that has remained in effect since then. There, enforcing the mandate, which includes the possibility of a misdemeanor charge, has been “easy,” according to Teton County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Lloyd Funk.
“Our public health officials here in Teton County have been doing an outstanding job vetting those complaints initially,” Funk said. “They’re handling them, then three strikes and you’re out. That’s when we get the call to go talk to a business or person.”
When the county-level order first took effect in July, local law enforcement tried to be lenient with people unsure of what the order required, Funk said. Since then, most residents have acclimated to it.
“Pretty much everyone has started abiding by it,” Funk said. “It’s kind of become a norm.”
The Teton County Sheriff’s Office has not had to issue any citations due to repeated violations of the mask requirement.
“We’ve tried to gain compliance through education and understanding,” Funk said.
If a mask mandate gains approval in Laramie County, officials could pursue a similar approach. The Laramie County Sheriff’s Department, for example, would first be asking for “voluntary compliance,” according to department Undersheriff Rich Hillegas.
“I don’t want to say our deputies are going to be reluctant to do anything – that’s not going to be the case,” Hillegas said. “We’ll certainly intervene where they need to, but how far do you take it? That’s a hard call to make.”
Initially during the pandemic, the local sheriff’s department was available to assist the Cheyenne-Laramie County Health Department with any possible complaints of businesses’ own public health measures being ignored. Deputies had to help out with a small number of scenarios, but a citation was never issued during those situations, Hillegas said.
The department had a single deputy designated to respond to those complaints. More officials would likely have to be looped in if a mask mandate is authorized in Laramie County, though it’ll depend on the extent of the order, Hillegas said.
“It may be a matter of briefing all of our officers that, ‘Hey, if you get a complaint, here’s how we want you to handle it,’” the undersheriff said.
The approach sounded similar to how the Cheyenne Police Department might handle such incidents. Chief Brian Kozak said his officers wouldn’t be “out looking for people who aren’t wearing masks” if a mandate is in place, but they would be ready to assist the local health department, as needed.
“I’m going to guess the order would not apply to people walking down the street,” Kozak said. “I’m sure the order would be more toward the business side of things – people in enclosed spaces, things like that – and we would leave it up to the business owner to enforce those rules.”
“Our primary job is preventing and reducing crime,” the police chief added. “We’re pretty busy at that, so I doubt we would have a lot of time to put our focus on masks. But we certainly would help the health department if they had problems with a certain business.”
The level of opposition to a mask mandate in Laramie County could also be a factor in how enforcement works. In initial results from a survey of local business managers and employees, 54% of respondents said they were against a county-level mask mandate, while 46% were in favor of it.
The survey, which was started by the Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce last week, had roughly 800 respondents as of Thursday night.
“There is definitely a difference of opinion about how we should be handling this,” said Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce CEO Dale Steenbergen. “A carrot is always better than a stick. People really don’t like being told what to do, but if you can sell it, that’s the key.”
Some may be able to avoid the potential mask requirement, depending on what exemptions are in place. If the mask order resembles Teton County’s, it would likely exempt people with medical conditions that prevent the wearing of a face covering, and privacy rules prohibit law enforcement officials from asking about said conditions.
“One of the loopholes is you can’t ask them about (the medical condition), either,” Funk said. “They can just say, ‘I have a medical condition,’ and as a law enforcement officer, I have to walk away.”
At the Laramie County Sheriff’s Department, Hillegas was wary to predict how much pushback there could be over a mandate, but if one is issued, he was hopeful residents would be willing to adapt.
“I see probably at least a third of the people in Walmart not wearing a mask, but that’s not something that’s mandatory – it’s just them asking you to do it,” Hillegas said. “I’m not a big fan personally of wearing a mask if I don’t have to, but hey, I’ll respect what the business wants you to do.
“Is it overreach? I don’t know,” he continued. “That depends on your point of view as a citizen ... but it is what it is. We have to live with it, and it would just be better if people did their best to comply.”