Fort Worth police broke up about 150 gatherings during coronavirus restrictions
Fort Worth Police Department’s Pandemic Response Team broke up about 150 gatherings in about two months.
The seven-officer team was created during the stay-at-home orders designed to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. The idea was to educate the public about the order and the dangers of not following social-distancing guidelines.
The team mostly broke up gatherings of 10 to 100 people at parks, convenience stores and car washes on the east and west sides of Fort Worth. Sometimes police found either no violation or no gathering. They made no arrests.
The team shared the details of their visits with supervisors after each shift. Police shared those reports with the Star-Telegram.
It showed:
▪ Police went to three churches that they were told were still holding regular services when they were supposed to be closed. Each time the officer arrived, the church was closed and the officer left a copy of the Mayor Betsy Price’s emergency declaration.
▪ Officers went to multiple parks on May 2 where they knew a gang was supposed to meet. While officers sat there, they noted that a handful of cars would drive in, see them and leave.
▪ Officers met with about 25 people who were gathered at Village Creek Park for a birthday party and told them they were in violation of the COVID-19 restrictions.
▪ Officers were sent to parks, two skate parks and a golf course to break up people walking, running or playing games. In most cases, the officers reminded people to stay six feet apart and not gather in crowds larger than 10.
This story was originally published June 16, 2020 at 1:46 PM.
