At today’s City Commission meeting, Commissioners tabled a last-minute addition to the agenda related to options for mitigating COVID-19 spread caused by large outdoor gatherings.
The agenda item was added by the Tallahassee Police Department.
The decision comes after a recent increase in COVID-19 cases in Tallahassee as well as an increase in TPD calls to large gatherings.
The agenda item included a proposed emergency ordinance that would have prohibited gatherings of 10 or more people in outdoor spaces between 12:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.
The proposed ordinance defined outdoor spaces to include parking lots, streets, parks, driveways and pools, but the ordinance would not have applied to gatherings at single-family homes, churches, temporary housing, restaurants and bars or universities.
Tallahassee Police Department Chief Lawrence Revell also proposed forming a task force for handling large gatherings, which he said have been made up mostly of college-aged people.
The task force would collaborate with the Leon County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO), the Florida State University Police Department, Florida A&M University and Tallahassee Community College.
“Proposed work of the task force includes obtaining video recordings to identify attendees, as well as the tag numbers of any vehicles,” staff reports.
Disciplinary action could be taken against FSU, FAMU and TCC students identified as attendees of large gatherings.
The Commissioners plan to revisit the agenda item at their next meeting.
City Commission Tables Emergency Ordinance Prohibiting Large Gatherings added by Lexie Pitzen on
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Great, Midnight to five won’t interfere with large gatherings for protests..
Large beer busts with hundreds of students are okay between 5:00 am and midnight? They are just trying to stop loud, obnoxious college parties, not protect anybody from COVID.
Why are large gatherings between 12:00am and 5:00am more dangerous than large gatherings any other time of day?
Answer: The commissioners don’t want to offend their political base by banning protests. College students are not their base SO THEY CAN SINGLE THEM OUT TO APPEAR TO BE DOING SOMETHING MEANINGFUL.
The constitutional right to assemble applies to both.
I don’t support wild parties, but neither do I support fake politicians acting like they are doing something when they’re not.
12:00 am to 5:00 am is technically morning. Should it not read “12:00 am to 5:00 am Saturday and Sunday mornings”? So it’s ok to be in the bar or restaurant where you will get Covit but hanging out in the parking lot is a too risky because of Covit. The county is saying it’s too dangerous to be indoors and you must wear a mask anytime you go inside, did they not think people would gather outdoors where it is “safer”.
Thank you for the clarification. So, the TPD has nothing better to do than spend taxpayer time, money, and resources worrying about some drunk/stoned college kids who won’t wear a face diaper?
Wearing a mask to protect against a viral infection, is like wearing a t-shirt to protect against a bullet. Wear one if it makes you “feel” better, but don’t expect miracles and stop pretending it matters.
3% infection rate in Tallahassee, and TPD is crapping their collective pants over this? You have nothing better to do, TPD?
I read this as someone at the Commission filing a hurt feelings report in coordination with the County Commission after the football game where students were seen on TV not wearing their symbols of obedience. As a beacon of liberal hive mind we cannot be seen out of step.
Increase in student parties during the fall? The hell you say. What a shocking development. Yes, let form a committee on group mask enforcement which could remotely harm somebody three “ifs” down the road and ignore the violent crime increase which actually and immediately harms somebody. Defund the police, send in the virologists along with the social workers.
Students don’t care and no, its not because of ignorance (well it may partially be), it is because you cannot convince them they are personally going to get seriously ill or die as a result of Covid or anything else really.
Empirically, at least regarding Covid, they are correct.
The article isn’t clear on this, so just for clarification… if I may… Where – or more to the point, who – did this Emergency Ordinance originate and/or come from? Was it TPD Chief Lawrence Revell, the Mayor, the CM, a health expert, a community organizer, BLM, AntiFa, etc…?
I find these two statements of interest, to say the least:
“The agenda item included a proposed emergency ordinance that would have prohibited gatherings of 10 or more people in outdoor spaces between 12:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.” …. hmmm, that seems awfully specific.
“Proposed work of the task force includes obtaining video recordings to identify attendees, as well as the tag numbers of any vehicles,”… hmmmm, seems more like the work of a Narc Gestapo rather than a task force.
… oh, these times they are a changing…
Could it be because they are expecting their People to Protest soon……….?