Local police prepared to enforce COVID-19 guidelines at large gatherings
A Mount Pleasant Police Department car sits outside Walmart on Dec. 12.
Both Central Michigan University and Mount Pleasant Police Departments are ready to enforce health and safety guidelines after 54 new coronavirus cases were confirmed among students earlier this week.
CMUPD Lt. Michael Sienkiewicz said the "first line" of handling coronavirus issues is among students, faculty and staff.
"We encourage people, if they see issues, to try to remedy it among their peers," Sienkiewicz said. "All staff is dealing with it in the residence halls, and they’re able to generally get compliance ... they’re figuring out how to deal without involving the police, so that’s encouraging."
However, if all else fails, CMUPD Lt. Cameron Wassman said campus police can get involved.
"We’ve seen an obvious increase in positive cases linked to CMU, so it goes without saying that limiting the size of gatherings and taking proper precautions is only going to help us," Wassman said. "We hope people follow the plan, and if they don’t, we will respond and have those conversations."
On Aug. 24, the Central Michigan District Health Department (CMDHD) issued an emergency order restricting gatherings in Mount Pleasant. The order limits outdoor gatherings to 25 people and indoor gatherings to 10 people, as per the existing Michigan executive order.
The next day, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Tony Voisin sent an email to students outlining steps to enforce the order -- including fining, and even suspending, students who host or attend large gatherings.
Sienkiewicz said the "vast majority" of gatherings from the last two weekends have been fewer than 25 people, but the health order offers a more specific standard for enforcement.
"There’s a lot of tools (for handling large gatherings) - we see the emergency health order as another tool in the toolbox to help us keep people safe," Sienkiewicz said. "I think the biggest part is that it sets a clear standard to the people hosting a party. Twenty-five, keep it under and you’re less likely to have issues."
The health order was issued four days after a video surfaced on Twitter showing a large group of people at Deerfield Apartments as bright lights from police cruisers flash in the background.
The Isabella County Sheriff's department disbanded the party before midnight. Although the CMUPD offered assistance, local law enforcement are in charge of citing large gatherings off campus
"We're hoping that everything continues to slow down and we're working to move away from exposures and COVID-19 cases," MPPD Public Information Officer Autume Balcom said. "But as a department, we will have to enforce anything that comes down from the (CMDHD) or from the governor's office."
Sienkiewicz said interactions between students and police have been mostly positive and that they want to prioritize compliance over enforcement in regard to COVID-19 violations.
