Cincinnati police have charged 10 city residents with violating Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s March 22 stay at home order aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus, Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac said today.
Those charges stem from multiple incidents in which people gathered in public in violation of DeWine’s order, Isaac said, and came after repeated requests from officers to disperse.
Isaac mentioned one well-known gathering that took place early April 4 at the Liberty Street Shell gas station in Over-the-Rhine during a report before a Cincinnati City Council committee today. One attendee at that gathering who filmed it and mocked precautions taken to avoid spreading COVID-19 is currently in the Hamilton County Jail on a $350,000 bond on misdemeanor charges that he violated the order.
That gathering was one reason the city asked the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority to discontinue fare-free bus service during the pandemic, as some of the attendees at that incident allegedly took the bus to get there. But police officials have said that there were other incidents in which people took the bus to violate DeWine’s order. CityBeat has requested police reports and other information about those incidents.
Isaac also noted other large gatherings that have occurred, including at fraternities around the University of Cincinnati. He said all those charged with violating DeWine’s order were also charged with other, more serious primary offenses.
Isaac reiterated that officers’ primary objective isn’t to make arrests, but to educate the public and encourage safe habits during the pandemic.
The chief also updated council today on the number of CPD officers who have caught COVID-19. According to Isaac, eight officers so far have had confirmed cases of the virus. Two of those officers have recovered and are back at work, while another six are still recovering at home.
The department’s first case was a patrol officer in District Three, which covers the city’s West Side. That officer could have had interactions with the public, CPD has acknowledged, and work has been done to trace any contacts between the officer and others.
This article appears in Mar 18 – Apr 14, 2020.