SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — Sioux Falls Police spokesman Sam Clemens clarifies how the new mask ordinance will or won’t be enforced at Wednesday’s briefing.
“If the business owner or manager tells them, ‘you have to have a mask. It’s our policy.’ and if the people refuse, and they (the manager) says, ‘Well, you need to leave,” and they don’t, then it’s trespassing or causing a disturbance, according to Clemens. “If somebody leaves, then there’s no issue. There’s no problems. There’s no reason for police to be involved.”
Clemens says someone simply failing to wear a mask won’t constitute a callout by the police. There has to be some other underlying ordinance violence, such as failure to vacate. Clemens says businesses have a right to mandate masks and ask people to comply or leave.
Clemens says if the person refuses to leave or causes a disturbance, then the police could cite them with a City ordinance that has a penalty attached to it.
