State police committed to encouraging compliance with shutdown restrictions

May 13--A Pennsylvania State Police deputy commissioner said on Wednesday that troopers would continue encouraging compliance with red-zone business prohibitions, rather than writing citations, even in counties such as Beaver that are vowing to ignore Gov. Tom Wolf's shutdown orders.

Lt. Col. Scott Price, the deputy commissioner of operations for the state police, said the focus for troopers "will continue to be encouragement" to follow restrictions, although the state police have the authority to issue citations for noncompliance.

Beaver County District Attorney David Lozier said last week that he would not prosecute cases of businesses or individuals cited for ignoring shutdown orders while the county remains in the red phase of Wolf's color-coded reopening plan.

County commissioners and state lawmakers have criticized Wolf for keeping Beaver County in the red, citing the vast majority of coronavirus-related cases and deaths have occurred at a single nursing home, Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Brighton Township.

Wolf decried the decision by county leaders across the state who vowed to begin reopening their counties even though he still has them in the read phase, saying they risk discretionary federal stimulus funding and businesses could lose their eligibility for liability insurance.

Price said that if citations are warranted in counties following Beaver County's lead, then troopers will write them and leave the decision to prosecute up to district attorneys.

Also, Price noted, state police could forward information about businesses to state departments that oversee licensing and permits for possible additional action.

State police, Price said, do not intend on sweeping into communities that might be encouraging reopening under red and overriding local police departments. "We don't intercede or second guess the actions taken by municipal police departments," he said.

State police data, though, reflects a general compliance with Wolf's order across the state. Since March 23, state police have issued 329 warnings to businesses and only one citation.

That sole citation was issued to a Lebanon County roofing business that had been warned twice about holding training meetings involving nine people before it was cited the third time troopers responded.

"We're really enjoying a great deal of cooperation among members of the public," Price said.

While there have been some contentious interactions, Price said state police "have been fortunate that we haven't experienced a lot of that."

Price said many of the violations troopers are seeing can be attributed to "a lot of misunderstanding rather than willful noncompliance."

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