The most citations that San Diego Police officers have issued for violations of the orders put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic were in the 92107 zip code area – which include Ocean Beach and Sunset Cliffs.
In an article in the San Diego Union-Tribune Friday, May 22, writer David Hernandez reported that San Diego police issued 157 citations between April 2 and May 6. And most of them – 55 – were issued in the 92107 area. In comparison, 35 were for the 92101 zip code area – downtown, and 9 for 92109, which includes Mission Bay and PB. Most citations were issued in April.
The report quoted San Diego police spokesman Lt. Shawn Takeuchi as saying “the department’s figures were estimates because the hand-written citations are logged manually in an internal database that is not necessarily complete.” Thirty-three of the citations issued by SDPD were for businesses that were open and in violation of orders allowing only essential businesses to be open. ” Most are smoke shops and massage parlors that had been warned,” Takeuchi said. The remainder were for alleged violations of stay-home orders.
Most of the citations issued by SDPD were in parks and beaches that had been closed in April. Officers wrote citations after they saw people walk past tape or signage indicating access was prohibited or the person admitted to knowing the area was closed, Takeuchi said.
He said the rules police were tasked with enforcing in April were “more black and white” — when beaches were closed and before face coverings were required in public. Recent amendments to the orders resulted in a “gray” area that can cause confusion, so the department has prioritized gaining compliance through education as the rules change, he said.
Except for the fact that the numbers of citations issued were “estimates”, this report should allay some concerns that San Diego police were not doing their jobs along Sunset Cliffs in April.
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