GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) — Green Bay Police are trying to clear up confusion surrounding the Governor’s “Safer at Home Order”.
Police have been inundated with calls from concerned citizens unsure of what to do, or what they can do.
“Most of the questions are ‘I need to go to the grocery store, can I go?’ Yes you can,” Police Chief Andrew Smith said Wednesday. “‘I need to go to work to check in or do some maintenance, can I do that?’ Yes, you can.”
Chief Smith says nothing will restrict you from going about your essential business.
“We just want people to stay home unless they have a valid reason to go out,” said Smith. “We’re not conducting checkpoints, we’re not stopping people randomly.”
One big clarification: Employees do not need a letter from their employer to drive back and forth from work.
“If you happen to be out driving and happen to commit a violation, there is a good chance you’re going to get stopped because there are a lot of cops out there,” said Smith. “But their reason for stopping you isn’t to check where you’re going or what you’re doing.”
Smith says they’re largely seeing compliance with all state health orders. One bar in Green Bay was visited by police last week and ordered to close, but no citation was issued.
“If you look at the streets of Green Bay, they’re pretty much deserted right now,” said Smith. “I think it’s going to be like that for the foreseeable future because people are voluntarily complying with these orders.”
In a press release, police delivered the following message:
A few important points:• We will not be setting up checkpoints of any kind.• We are not randomly stopping vehicles to determine the occupants’ reason for travel based on the Safer at Home Order. Officers still have to have a valid reason for a traffic stop. Policing Constitutionally is not negotiable.• We have a procedure in place to review, investigate, and deploy resources regarding complaints of violations by businesses or illegal large gatherings.• There is no new curfew. The juvenile nighttime curfew that has been in effect for years is still in effect. Juveniles need to be home by 10:00 pm.• If we come into contact with a group of people (10+) we will ask for voluntary compliance and for the group to disperse.• If we respond to a business that is not essential, we educate the owner and ask for voluntary compliance.• Officers have the discr etion to charge violators through the Brown County District Attorney Office for Safer at Home Order violations.
