During a casual stroll around the Plaza on a Monday afternoon, SFR spotted three individuals who didn't appear to be eating or drinking and who were sitting on public benches without masks— clearly ignoring the large solar-powered signs set up on the north side of the Plaza flashing the words, "WEAR YOUR MASK, IT'S THE LAW."
All three were older white men, and all declined SFR's invitation to discuss their choice to go maskless. A police vehicle idling along West Palace Avenue drove away before SFR had the chance to approach the officer.
Both New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Santa Fe's governing body have passed laws that make masks mandatory in public spaces and allow law enforcement to issue fines to people who repeatedly refuse to mask up. In the city, the fine is $50. At the state level, it can be up to $100.
SFPD has issued citations and warnings to five people for not wearing masks, and if you spend much time downtown, you might assume most folks flouting the law are tourists. But according to documents provided by police Tuesday, those who have been issued citations and warnings are locals.
Republican congressional candidate Alexis Johnson is the only woman to receive a citation so far for refusing to wear a mask while campaigning on the Plaza on July 3, even after officers offered her a mask.
Police issued a warning to Hector Ontiveros-Marquez for not wearing a face mask at 11:18 on June 13 at 5992 Airport Road, an address that corresponds to a Dollar General store. SFR was unable to reach the Dollar General for comment.
The police report for the incident says, "Manager c/o subject no wearing face mask."
Another man, Antony Hassell, was issued a citation after appearing outside the Santa Fe Farmers Market for two consecutive weekends without a face mask.
On July 4, police issued a warning to Hassell. On July 11 he received a citation for a court hearing because he "refuses to wear a face mask while in public and interacting with people," and "was previously warned of the ordinance," the police report says.
Market Manager Nery Martinez tells SFR a man protesting the city and state mask ordinances by standing outside the market without a mask was approached by police the first and second Saturday of July, though he is not sure whether that was Hassell. Martinez says market management was not responsible for reporting the man to the police.
Martinez says he and market security are enforcing strict COVID-19 guidelines by ensuring all patrons inside market boundaries are wearing masks, and by breaking up groups of people who have stopped to socialize or eat. Vendors are also required to wear masks and gloves and booths are spaced 6 feet apart.
City Councilor Carol Romero-Wirth introduced the mandatory mask ordinance to city council in June. She tells SFR the law is part of a wider public education campaign that includes working with businesses to post signs about masks across the city.
"What we are trying to do with all of these efforts is trying to create a community norm," she says, telling SFR that as the community adapts to the new norm, it is "entirely appropriate" for police to issue citations only to the worst-case scenarios and those who have repeatedly refused to comply with the ordinance.
Romero-Wirth says she believes most people will choose to wear masks once they are aware of both the law and the facts about how the virus is transmitted.
"The vast majority of people are law abiding," she says. "Having a law just underscores that this is a behavior that we are very serious about. We don't have a vaccine, there's no pill you can take as a cure and the virus has very severe health consequences. The one tool we have to protect people is to wear a face covering."
Multiple recent studies have shown wearing face masks in public can significantly decrease the rate of airborne transmission of the COVID-19 virus.
Deputy Chief Paul Joye says officers have approached people without masks to have conversations about the new law and to give them masks to wear before issuing citations.
"Our primary objective is education first," says Joye, adding that "the information I'm getting so far, generally speaking, is that most of our interactions have been positive."
When the law was passed, several city councilors raised concerns that the extra time required of officers already stretched thin responding to other calls would make the law difficult to enforce. Joye says that all officers have been directed to enforce the ordinance if they come into contact with someone who is not wearing a mask while they go about their regular patrol duties, and the department has "freed up" some officers from the training and administrations divisions to respond to mask calls for service.
"We've been getting calls I'd say every day with regards to mask violations and people not adhering," he says. "I think it's certainly fair to say that the community has taken an interest in helping us to enforce the ordinance."
