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Chicago Police Disband Funeral Service For Being Too Crowded

   DailyWire.com
CHICAGO - FEBRUARY 06: A Chicago Police decal on a Chicago Police vehicle is on display at the 112th Annual Chicago Auto Show at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois on February 6, 2020.
Raymond Boyd/Getty Images

Police officers disbanded mourners at an Assyrian Church in Chicago after noticing a crowd, consisting of as many as sixty people, gathered for a Sunday funeral service in violation of the city’s stay-at-home order. 

Many of the persons gathered for the funeral service were elderly, and a spokesperson for the police department said some people in attendance were drinking from the same cup, according to The Chicago-Sun Times

“This is sincerely the last thing we want to do, but public health during this climate is vastly important for everyone,” the spokesperson told the news agency. 

In a statement to Newsweek, the spokesperson clarified that the funeral was “expedited” before it was disbanded, giving mourners an opportunity to complete the service. 

“Given the public health impacts and the current stay at home order, officers expedited the completion of the funeral service and dispersed patrons,” the spokesperson told the news agency. “No arrests were made or citations given.”

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced last week that the police department would take a harsh stance on unauthorized gatherings in order to prevent the city from losing the ground they have gained from enacting strict social distancing measures, reports NBC News

“For the most part, Chicagoans have been doing well and maintaining safe distancing, but we are concerned with what we’ve seen in recent days, both indoors and outdoors,” said Lightfoot.

“If we see gatherings, we will shut them down, period. Folks, this situation is deadly serious,” said the mayor, according to the news agency. “If we don’t maintain the social distancing we need, we will lose ground that we’ve gained. Simple as that. And the longer we don’t follow this order, the longer this crisis will last, the sicker people will get, and the harder the strain on our healthcare system.”

During the same news conference, Charlie Beck, the interim superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, announced that people gathering in violation of the mandate would be subject to a maximum fine of $500, reports the news agency. Furthermore, persons who repeatedly violate the policy could be arrested. 

As The Daily Wire reported Sunday, Mayor Bill de Blasio has revealed similar measures, announcing that the New York City police department would be issuing fines to people who flaunt social-distancing rules, a move designed to “intensify our enforcement” of the public health policy. 

“Now, if an officer comes up to you, if someone wearing official city uniform, official city identification, comes up and says, ‘Move along, disperse, etc,’ if you ignore that order, they’re going to say, ‘If you ignore it, we’re gonna have to fine you.’ They’re gonna give people every chance to listen,” said de Blasio. 

“If anyone doesn’t listen, then they deserve a fine at this point – and I don’t want to fine people when so many folks are going through economic distress,” said De Blasio, who added that people who repeatedly flaunt social-distancing orders “deserve a fine.”

The New York City mayor has also threatened to permanently close places of worship that ignore repeated warnings to not hold in-person services amidst the coronavirus epidemic, as The Daily Wire previously reported. 

“No faith tradition endorses anything that endangers the members of that faith,” said de Blasio. “So, the NYPD, Fire Department, Buildings Department, and everyone has been instructed that if they see worship services going on, they will go to the officials of that congregation, they’ll inform them they need to stop the services and disperse.”

“If that does not happen, they will take additional action up to the point of fines and potentially closing the building permanently,” said the mayor.

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