Fort Worth police, others aren’t stopping drivers for coronavirus stay-at-home order
Fort Worth police and other area police departments say they are not stopping motorists to determine if they are violating orders to stay home because of the coronavirus pandemic.
For many North Texas cities and counties, officials have issued shelter-in-place or stay-at-home orders, allowing residents travel only for essential reasons. Local governments have those reasons listed on their websites, including working at essential businesses, obtaining food or exercising outdoors.
Smartphone GPS data shows that Fort Worth residents have been following orders to stay at home.
The average mobility of the Tarrant County population, as of Thursday morning, had declined 46% compared to the end of February, before restrictions were in place. That data comes from Unacast, an analytics company that has scraped data from tens of millions of cell phone users worldwide.
But area police officials said they have received multiple calls from residents about driving on roads and streets under the orders.
Fort Worth police officials said Thursday it was false that they had staged checkpoints and asked for work documentation. Many of these allegations and rumors were on social media platforms.
“These claims are NOT accurate,” according to a statement released by Fort Worth police officials on Thursday. “The department is not and will not enforce these types of traffic stops.”
Fort Worth police officials said if an officer makes a traffic stop, it would be for an observed traffic violation or for investigation of another criminal offense.
Deputies with the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office also are not stopping drivers to determine if they are in violation of the order, said Lt. Jennifer Gabbert with the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office.
It’s the same policy in Parker County, Sheriff Larry Fowler.
Several other North Texas police departments have taken to social media to alert motorists about what they are doing in regards to the orders.
“We will not stop motorists on the basis of determining if they are in violation of the order,” according to a Grand Prairie Police Department tweet on Thursday.
Grapevine police noted their officers would not stop a vehicle without a cause.
In a Tweet on Wednesday, Arlington Police Chief Will Johnson said, “Officers will NOT contact community members solely on the basis of determining whether their travel is in violation of the ‘Stay Home Work Safe’ restriction.”
Johnson added Arlington police would be working with residents to educate them on Arlington’s Disaster Declaration.
“The Arlington Police Department has viewed social media posts that indicate that police officers are detaining motorists and pedestrians who appear to be out on the roadways in violation of the ‘Stay Home, Work Safe’ restriction,” said Arlington police Lt. Christopher Cook in a Thursday news release. “This is not accurate.”
Grand Prairie police added that while enforcement of the order was an option, officers would be educating residents in their city. Their strategy also is voluntary compliance with the order.
Flower Mound police said they had received several calls on Wednesday from residents about being out on the road during the stay-at-home order.
“We know there are many people who work at essential businesses or are going to places like the grocery store during this time,” according to a Flower Mound PD tweet on Wednesday. “Thank you for doing your part in keeping this community safe and healthy during this difficult time, as we do ours.”
This story was originally published March 26, 2020 at 1:17 PM with the headline "Fort Worth police, others aren’t stopping drivers for coronavirus stay-at-home order."
