State police have cited 2, warned 8 for violating stay-at-home order

Pennsylvania State Police have begun enforcing Gov. Tom Wolf’s stay-at-home order now that it has become a statewide mandate, according to Lt. Col. Scott Price, deputy commissioner of operations for state police.

So far, troopers have issued two citations and eight warnings to people who allegedly violated the stay-at-home order since Wolf expanded it statewide starting April 1. The order will be in place until at least April 30.

“As time goes on … we will be continuing to encourage compliance, but the intent is if folks don’t comply then we will begin issuing more citations and enforcing the violations,” Price said. “Some of the metrics that we look at show there may be a backslide in terms of compliance. The other is that we’ve had some nice weather the last day or two, and it’s potentially somewhat more of a concern that folks are out and about and in violation of the stay-at-home order.”

While troopers will not stop vehicles simply to determine where people might be traveling to, officers could ask during traffic stops with probable cause of a crime or vehicle code violation.

The latest citation was issued for Norristown, Montgomery County, resident Michael Daniel Soder, 44.

Soder was speeding in Chester County on March 29 when he lost control and hit a cement barrier, suffering minor injuries, according to state police. He was wanted on charges of retail theft. Police arrested him after the crash, also citing him for violating the stay-at-home order.

The first citation was for a 19-year-old York County woman, who was pulled over for a vehicle code violation the same day . The woman told PennLive she plans to fight the citation.

Three of the eight warnings have been issued by Troop A, which covers Westmoreland, Indiana, Somerset and Cambria counties. Troop spokesman Steve Limani declined to disclose the counties where the warnings were issued.

Troop E, which covers Erie, Crawford, Warren and Venango counties, has issued the most warnings at four.

Troop J, which covers York, Lancaster and Chester counties, has issued a single warning and both citations.

Wolf began issuing stay-at-home orders to individual counties in March to slow the spread of coronavirus. During that time, state police were focused on educating the public on the importance of the order and partnering with communities to encourage people to stay home for their own safety, Price said.

People are allowed to leave their homes to shop for essentials, care for a relative, receive medical care, go to work at an “essential” business, or exercise while maintaining a safe distance from others.

The state police count of warnings and citations does not include those issued by local police departments. Columbia Borough police in Lancaster County, for example, cited two people this week for allegedly sitting on the sidewalk and drinking alcohol, nowhere near their homes.

⚠️ Troopers maintain the ability to issue a warning for a violation of the #COVID19 Pennsylvania Stay at Home order. As always, traffic stops are initiated only upon probable cause for a violation of Title 18 (PA Crimes Code) and/or Title 75 (PA Vehicle Code).

— Troopers Steve Limani & Cliff Greenfield (@PSPTroopAPIO) April 7, 2020

In addition to warning individuals for violating the order, state police have investigated 541 “nonessential” businesses for continuing to operate despite Wolf’s order to close their physical locations. Of those, 178 received warnings and none has been cited, Price said.

“It’s a delicate balance,” Price said. “Our role in law enforcement has always been we would prefer voluntary compliance, whether it be in this pandemic response or even on the criminal investigation side. This is a little different. We understand this is a time of unprecedented stress for people.”

He added that state police officials are working to receive masks to keep troopers safe during their daily duties and for the chance they might have to come in contact with someone who has tested positive.