Crime & Safety
PA Woman Gets $200 Ticket For Driving During Stay-At-Home Order
Some politicians and news media personalities have seized on the ticket as an example of stay-at-home orders gone too far.
YORK COUNTY, PA — A Pennsylvania woman was ticketed late last month for taking a leisurely drive despite the state's stay-at-home order implemented to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, according to court documents and reports.
Anita Shaffer was ticketed by Pennsylvania State Police for breaking the state’s Disease Control and Prevention Act of 1955, court documents show.
Shaffer, 19, was issued the ticket March 29 in Red Lion Borough. The ticket was issued two days after Gov. Tom Wolf expanded the order to York County. It has since been made a statewide order. All nonessential businesses and schools remain closed as part of the state's strategy to slow the spread of the virus.
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PennLive.com reports Shaffer pleaded not guilty to the citation, which comes with a fine of at least $202.25. She was pulled over after a trooper said her taillight was out and that she should be home and not driving around during the pandemic, the publication reported.
State Police Communications Director Ryan Tarkowski told Fox News that troopers "maintain discretion" to warn or issue citations to drivers during the stay-at-home order. "Sunday drives are not essential travel. Does that mean that everyone who goes for a drive will get cited/warned? Obviously not," Tarkowski said in a statement to the network.
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The case has since garnered national attention, with some politicians and news media personalities seizing on it as an example of stay-at-home orders gone too far amid the nationwide pandemic.
Fox News' Brit Hume tweeted a link to the story Sunday. "Good grief," the political analyst wrote. Hume's tweet was retweeted more than 4,000 times, including by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
Cruz called the situation "absurd" and wrote in all capital letters: "WE DON’T LIVE IN A POLICE STATE."
This is absurd. To Dem politicians (and it seems to be only Dems doing this, eg Wolf in PA, DeBlasio in NYC, Cooper in NC), protect public safety, but WE DON’T LIVE IN A POLICE STATE. Resist authoritarianism & don’t abuse power. Driving a car alone is not a public health threat. https://t.co/tTNszTGNgA
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) April 5, 2020
In response, the Troop A social media feed attempted "rumor control," saying there are no COVID-19 checkpoints. "We encourage staying home, except for essentials."
RUMOR CONTROL: You do not need “paperwork” other than a Driver’s License/Learner’s Permit, Vehicle Registration, & Proof of Insurance to drive during #COVID19. We are not conducting #COVID19 checkpoints. We encourage staying home, except for essentials like pic.twitter.com/zeNMQVZ3bg
— Troopers Steve Limani & Cliff Greenfield (@PSPTroopAPIO) April 2, 2020
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