Coronavirus: Warnings, no tickets (yet) from York, Chester, Lancaster cops in SC group ban
Several law enforcement agencies in this area have had to disperse groups of people who violated a coronavirus state of emergency order that bans gatherings of three or more, but no tickets or arrests have been made, officials said.
Groups of more than three people gathering outside of specific work, commerce and other exceptions were banned last week under a state of emergency executive order from South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster. Enforcement of the Covid-19 emergency law has been left to the discretion of local law enforcement agencies.
Officials with law enforcement agencies in York, Chester, and Lancaster counties have not reported issuing tickets or making arrests.
“We had a couple of groups over the weekend where people were together in parking lots, but we told them they had to break it up and go home,” said Capt. Brian Trail of the York Police Department. “We did not issue any citations. We want people to understand the law first.”
York police have a system since the order took effect where a first offense merits a written warning.
“We want to document it so that we know if someone habitually does this,” Trail said. “We want to educate first.”
A second offense would get a ticket or citation that is a misdemeanor, Trail said. A third offense could mean a trip to jail, Trail said.
Wildlife officers with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources dispersed boating groups over the past several days on Lake Wylie without writing any tickets, said Officer Jeff Vissage. Officers reminded people in those groups what the emergency law was, Vissage said.
The problems were mainly at Goat Island across the water from Ebenezer Park, and a popular sandbar boat gathering place, Vissage said.
York County Sheriff’s Office boat patrols also are on Lake Wylie checking for groups and boat safety, said spokesman Trent Faris. Deputies did not issue any group violation tickets over the weekend on the lake or in other unincorporated areas of the county, Faris said.
York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson said his deputies will be mindful of personal freedoms and use common sense in handling persons in groups that violate the ban.
Tega Cay also has a water boundary with Lake Wylie. The Tega Cay Police Department has had no boat group ban violations, said Capt. James Patterson. The department has sent officers to the Nivens Creek boat landing site to assist with general safety for the throng of watercraft going in and out because the boat landing remains open for the public, Patterson said.
In Fort Mill where town parks are closed, police found one group of people over the weekend who had gathered, said Maj. Bryan Zachary of the Fort Mill Police Department. The group was reminded the parks were closed and there was a ban on groups. No citations were issued, Zachary said.
Rock Hill Police Department officers have not had any instances where officers had to disperse large groups or issue any citations, said Lt. Michael Chavis.
No incidents of problems with the group ban have been reported in the Town of Clover, said Capt. Logan McGarity.
In the city of Lancaster, officers have not had to break up any groups through Monday, said Scott Grant, Lancaster Police Department chief.
“People seem to be following the rules and staying away from situations for large gatherings that right now are a health concern for all of us,” Grant said.
No incidents of dispersal of large groups were reported through Monday in Lancaster County or Chester County, officials from sheriff’s offices in both counties said.
This story was originally published March 30, 2020 at 1:51 PM.
