Governor Kate Brown has issued a statewide mask order. Four Oregon State Police refused to wear masks when visiting a coffee shop in Corvallis, Oregon. Corvallis is a very nice town and the home of Oregon State University.
The Oregonian reports that the reason the officers refused to wear masks was because, as one of them said “Governor Brown has no authority to take our civil liberties. We aren’t going to wear masks,” Usually raising the issue of civil liberties to State Troopers doesn’t work so well, and I think when they talk about their “rights” they do it for ironic effect. Kate Brown has every right to order mask wearing or the courts would have ruled against her. These are the kind of police who talk about “armed friendlies” and exude entitlement. Police who can’t obey the law and act with arrogant entitlement are not there for public safety. I’m not sure what they feel their job entails, but they definitely are not putting public service first. Gov. Brown had a very strong response and one of the officers is under administrative suspension. There is probably no penalty for this kind of petty behavior other than losing a day of vacation time, but I assume this officer, after running his mouth like that, will not be making Sergeant anytime soon. Or maybe they reassign you to the other side of state or whatever they do to discipline uncooperative officers.
An annoyed Oregon State Police Superintendent Travis Hampton said “Let me be clear, Oregon State Police Troopers are not above the law and this conduct is being immediately addressed. As the leader of the Oregon State Police, I would like to offer my apology to the coffee shop employees and the community.”