The NYPD will no longer make arrests or hand out tickets if people are breaking mask-covering rules the mayor said Friday.
“Absent a serious danger to the public, NYPD will not take enforcement actions for failing to wear face coverings,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said during his daily press conference. “The reset will be this: We start with the fundamental notion the NYPD is here to protect lives, to save lives, and where we see the greatest danger to lives in terms of the coronavirus and the areas where we can enforce is around gatherings, particularly large gatherings, so that’s where we’re going to focus,” the mayor continued.
The shift comes two days after another controversial video emerged of a police interaction with a woman and her young child in the subway over a mask.
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