Andrews – His intentions may have been pure in heart, but the mayor’s decision to erect a checkpoint to keep out-of-state visitors away from town and prevent the spread of COVID-19 did not go over well with many citizens.
Some motorists drove around barricades, risking the lives of people in the area. Others ignored requests to check their identification cards and just kept driving, as if to say, “Catch me if you can.”
Those were not the only issues that complicated the effort. Since police continued to receive calls regarding crimes, they could not man the checkpoint around the clock. As a result, there were times when motorists flowed through the checkpoint without scrutiny, which defeated the purpose.
When police were manning the site, the flow of traffic slowed down, causing a long line of vehicles backed up to the four-lane highway. To move traffic along, at times police just waved every vehicle through without checking for residency, which again defeated the purpose of the effort, and even had law enforcement officials questioning whether their time was being used appropriately.
Those were just some of the issues witnessed by the Cherokee Scout over the course of several hours Thursday and Friday before town officials decided to modify the plan.
“It’s trial and error, and there has been more error than anything right now,” Mayor James Reid said. “It’s a work in progress.”
While some motorists seemed more than happy to show identification in hopes that the checkpoint would keep the coronavirus from affecting town residents, others felt the measures violated the Constitution of the United States.
The Scout spoke with several law enforcement officials employed by multiple agencies who requested anonymity in order to speak freely about the matter. They each said they understood the efforts by local and state lawmakers to try and prevent the spread of COVID-19, and none of the officers felt lawmakers were issuing directives for nefarious reasons.
However, they all felt the restrictions being put in place either outright violated – or were on the verge of violating – the U.S. Constitution.
“The Constitution is the supreme law of the land,” one officer said. “I know they’re trying to protect the people and stop the virus, but we cannot make laws that supersede the Constitution.”
Local law enforcement officials are not the only ones to express this concern. A sheriff in Franklin County, Maine, issued a statement saying his officers would not be “setting up a police state” after Gov. Janet Mills issued a Stay-at-Home Order last week.
“The sheriff’s office will not purposefully go out and stop vehicles because they are on the road or stop and ask why people are out and about. To do so puts our officers at risk. This is not Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia where you are asked for your papers!” Franklin County Sheriff Scott Nichols wrote in a Facebook post that has been shared more than 5,000 times.
Reid said he erected the checkpoint and roadblocks to simply deter out-of-state visitors from turning off U.S. 19/74 and entering downtown.
“The point was to keep them moving on the four-lane,” he said.
After recognizing the logistical and legal issues related to the checkpoint, Reid modified his orders to police and set up an electronic sign on U.S. 19/74 near Main Street that says, “Local Traffic Only.”
Until further notice, Cover Avenue and Robbinsville Road remain completely blocked to all traffic. Meanwhile, two law enforcement vehicles will be parked on Main Street (also known as U.S. Business 19) to deter out-of-state traffic.
The vehicle checkpoints on Main Street will be periodically and temporarily manned. Police cannot remain at those stations around the clock, and civilians do not have the constitutional authority to stop motorists.
When police are manning the stations, they will not be checking the identification of every driver. Instead, they will keep an eye out for motorists who give police reasonable suspicion to check their license. Motorists who meet that criteria will be pulled over.
Meanwhile, county officials have also issued a new directive and plan to erect signs to discourage out-of-state visitors from entering Cherokee County. The signs will say, “Upon arrival, part-time residents must go directly to their property. Self-quarantine for 14 days.”