Local Police Departments Deal With Social Distancing Complaints
Apr 1, 2020, 11:19 PM | Updated: Jul 1, 2022, 11:22 pm
COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah — A few local police agencies said they have been receiving roughly a dozen complaints per day about alleged improper social distancing as Utah’s leaders have urged people to stay home and stay safe amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“People call in and say, ‘you know, I’m walking my dog, I see this at the park,’ or, ‘hey, my neighbors are having this go on in their backyard,’” Sgt. J.D. Tazoi of the Cottonwood Police Department said. “We check out everything and a lot of them, like at parks and stuff, are unfounded.”
Tazoi said officers in most cases are simply educating people and moving them along “unless it’s egregious.”
“Just understand that people just have to get out and do stuff, and they will as long as it’s within reason,” Tazoi said. “We’re not going to go in with an iron fist and tell people they can’t do it.”
Cottonwood Heights wasn’t the only police department to have reported receiving social distancing-related complaints.
Draper Police Sgt. Scott Adams said his department had fielded “several” calls in recent days, drawing responses from officers. He said when police have had to make contact, they’ve simply explained that the groups needed to disperse, and people have obliged.
Salt Lake City Police Det. Greg Wilking said their department had only received a few complaints to date.
“Everybody has to take it seriously, right?” Tazoi said. “You also have to understand that it is springtime, and people are going to want to hang out with family.”
He encouraged people to consider their own family’s practices of social distancing first.
The parking lot at Crestwood Regional Park located at 1673 E. Siesta Dr. in Cottonwood Heights was about half-full Wednesday afternoon.
Brittany Evans said her family has found pickleball to be a welcome respite.
“I think people know what they’re doing,” Evans said. “If they’re in groups, it might just be their family because of the big families they live with.”
Evans said all the time indoors has led her and others to feel anxious and sad.
“Breathe in the fresh air!” she smiled. “It gives you something else to do so you’re not going crazy.”
