Oregon State Police don’t wear coronavirus masks while patronizing coffee shop, despite governor’s order
By Brad Schmidt | The Oregonian/OregonLive
https://www.oregonlive.com/coronavirus/ ... order.html
A group of Oregon State Police troopers appeared to defy Gov. Kate Brown’s statewide mask order while in uniform Wednesday, entering a Corvallis coffee shop without wearing required face coverings, video obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive shows.
The store’s assistant manager, Travis Boss, said he told the first trooper who arrived that the trooper needed to wear a mask.
“Governor Brown has no authority to take our civil liberties. We aren’t going to wear masks,” the trooper allegedly said, according to a written statement from Boss provided to the newsroom.
The trooper proceeded to place his order, Boss said in an interview, offering a foul-mouthed retort to the governor’s mandate that masks be worn within indoor public spaces.
“He said, ‘F---, Kate Brown,’” Boss recalled.
The trooper’s alleged comments came on the same day that Brown’s statewide mask order went into effect, and just hours before Brown implored Oregonians to wear facial coverings as a “simple, common sense way to protect yourself and others” during the coronavirus pandemic.
Three other law enforcement officers entered the business moments later and also refused a request to wear masks, Boss said. Boss said he felt compelled to fulfill their drink orders because they were in uniform, even though he said he had sent other patrons away earlier for not wearing masks.
The incident represents an extraordinary example of the difficult position that Brown has put some businesses in as they work to enforce the potentially divisive rule. Workers in shops across Oregon have been left to impose the mask mandate with the knowledge that some customers may disobey or, as videos across the country have shown, create made-for-internet spectacles.
Allan’s Coffee & Tea reported Wednesday’s incident to local police. Oregon State Police responded by launching an internal investigation, said Capt. Timothy Fox, an agency spokesman.
“The involved trooper has been placed on administrative leave,” Fox said in a statement. “OSP is early in the investigation, but if found to be true, we are thoroughly disappointed and expect our troopers to follow the governor’s executive orders and be examples in the community.”
Fox confirmed Thursday that all four were state troopers but he would not name the trooper on leave.
Oregon State Police Superintendent Travis Hampton addressed the issue Thursday morning, less than three hours after The Oregonian/OregonLive published this story online. Hampton wrote on Twitter that the conduct described in the article was “embarrassing and indefensible,” especially as thousands protest each night in Oregon for police accountability in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
“Let me be clear, Oregon State Police Troopers are not above the law and this conduct is being immediately addressed,” Hampton wrote. “As the leader of the Oregon State Police, I would like to offer my apology to the coffee shop employees and the community.”
Brown also issued a statement Thursday afternoon, echoing Hampton’s response.
“It is inexcusable that a few Oregon State Troopers disregarded my face covering requirement yesterday, and ignored a request from a fellow Oregonian to follow the rule,” she said. “Oregon State Police Superintendent Hampton and I agree that their actions and behaviors were absolutely unacceptable.”
The incident in Corvallis underscores the tension nationwide among some people over whether masks should be worn to prevent the spread of coronavirus, which has killed more than 128,000 Americans, including 208 in Oregon.
Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends wearing masks in public, President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have repeatedly refused to don facial coverings. Masks have become a flashpoint that often fall along political lines.
The co-owners of Allan’s Coffee & Tea, Robert and Kathryn Morgan, said Wednesday they respect the work of troopers and did not want the incident to turn political. In fact, the business brews a special “Oregon State Police blend” at their shop in Albany, near the troopers’ offices.
The co-owners said they simply want to comply with Brown’s mask mandate and keep their business open for patrons.
Brown’s mask order does not explicitly name coffee shops but applies to restaurants, bars, breweries, brewpubs, wineries, tasting rooms and distilleries. Masks “are not required while eating or drinking,” according to state guidance.
“We’re in this to follow the mandate,” Robert Morgan said, “to try to get back to some form of normalcy somewhere down the road.”
Wednesday’s incident began at about 8:30 a.m. when a trooper wearing shorts and a bullet-proof vest entered the Allan’s location on Northwest Monroe Avenue, next to Oregon State University.
Video shows the unmasked trooper walking to the counter, where Boss greets him. The video, provided to the newsroom by the business, does not have audio.
Boss said the trooper is a regular, and they have a friendly rapport.
“Hey, you gotta have your mask on,” Boss recalled saying. Boss said the trooper declined.
The video shows Boss and the trooper talking for more than 30 seconds before Boss grabs a cup, giving it to the nearby barista to use to fill the order.
Boss said he initially tried to diffuse the situation by asking the trooper what he thought about Brown’s order requiring masks. That prompted the alleged response that it would be a violation of civil liberties, Boss said.
Boss said the trooper also noted that police would not be enforcing violations and said something like: “I’m not going to wear a mask and none of us are,” in anticipation of more troopers arriving.
That left Boss in a weird situation.
“He’s a state trooper, he’s in uniform,” Boss said. “He’s more or less saying, ‘This is how it’s going to be, and this is what I want.’”
The video shows three more people in uniform arrive, none wearing masks. One wears a vest that appears to say “State Trooper,” video footage shows. The second wears a vest that appears to say “State Police.” The third does not have a vest over his uniform but has a star-shaped badge pinned to his chest.
After they placed their orders, the group sits at a table near the door. The video footage shows several other customers enter the business later, one of whom does not wear a mask when he places an order with the barista.
The troopers remain for about 10 minutes, according to the video footage.
Boss said two of the troopers are regulars and he expected them to leave after getting their drinks, which they usually do. Boss said he contacted the owners to determine what he should do next.
Boss said he was instructed to tell them that Corvallis police had been contacted and they should leave. The video shows Boss approaching them at their table, and the troopers stand up to go.
One of the troopers allegedly said, “That’s Corvallis for you,” as they walked out, Boss recalled.
Having law enforcement officers in the shop without wearing masks created a “horrible situation,” Boss said, upsetting some customers who questioned why they had to wear masks when the police did not.
Kathryn Morgan said they expected some customers would not want to comply with Brown’s mask order. But she found it “pretty upsetting” that the troopers would not wear masks, putting their business in an awkward position of being at risk for not following the rules.
“It’s sad,” she said. “These are people in a position of power and leaders in the community. I think we look to them as examples. For them not to be following the orders, whether or not they agree with it, is telling.”
A lieutenant from the Oregon State Police arrived at the coffee shop later in the morning to talk with Boss, and Robert Morgan participated via speaker phone. Boss said he explained what happened and what the trooper said, including the alleged use of profanity.
“I don’t hold any grudges against him,” Boss said. “I feel bad about the possible backlash that might come from this, on them, and at the same time I know that’s not my doing.”
Robert Morgan said the lieutenant didn’t apologize for the incident but assured them it would not be swept under the rug.
All the same, Robert Morgan said the lieutenant told them they could share the information with whomever they wanted but “but they would prefer to keep it as an internal matter.”
Robert and Kathryn Morgan said they wrestled with whether to go public but decided to do so, hoping it would ensure everyone follows the mask order with the goal of reducing coronavirus spread and helping businesses stay open.
Brown’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment Wednesday evening.
But earlier in the day – just hours after the incident – Brown had told reporters during a morning news conference that she expected businesses to comply with the mask order to protect patrons and employees.
“I know that Oregonians will literally vote with their feet,” she said. “They will go to businesses that are taking extra efforts to ensure that their customers and their clients are safe and protected from COVID-19.”
Brown made clear that violation of the order could be a misdemeanor, although she did not expect police to write tickets nor did she want businesses to contact officers for help with disobedient customers.
“We shouldn’t have to be in the position of calling the police to enforce face coverings,” Brown said. “It’s just common sense, folks.”
-- Brad Schmidt;
bschmidt@oregonian.com; 503-294-7628; @_brad_schmidt