SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio — If you've been to Bexley Park or Quarry North Park in the last week, then you've likely seen a new sign at their entrances banning facial coverings and oversized bags.
South Euclid Police Chief Joseph Mays told me the signs come as part of a new safety policy passed in late April.
Mays first submitted a memo to the city on April 6 requesting the policy.
The memorandum explains that Bexley Park has experienced an increase in disturbances, assaults, thefts, and other disorderly conduct involving juveniles and young adults in recent years.
Mays said, most notably, on April 6, South Euclid officers responded to Bexley Park for a reported robbery involving juveniles.
According to the memo, during that incident:
- A juvenile victim was assaulted and robbed by a group of juveniles inside the park;
- The victim was punched, and his property was forcibly taken during the altercation;
- Officers detained suspects shortly thereafter;
- One suspect was found in possession of the victim's stolen property;
- Officers recovered a kitchen knife concealed in a backpack carried by one of the suspects.
The victim in this incident, according to Mays, was only 12 years old.
Due to this and other incidents involving facial coverings, Mays said a safety policy banning them and bags larger than 12x12x6 was requested and approved weeks later.
"We've increased our security footprint there (Bexley Park), we've added some cameras, and we have found that people are just covering their faces now," Mays said. "We tried to be very narrow in our focus."
Mays said facial coverings that raise red flags are ski masks, hoods that can zip up but still have eye holes, and surgical masks on a hot summer day.
There are exceptions to the facial covering prohibition, according to the policy:
- Bona fide medical or public health reasons;
- Religious observance;
- Weather protection;
- Athletic or recreational purposes where customary.
Individuals authorized in writing by the city for special events or permitted uses may also be exempt from the facial covering ban.
As for oversized bags, diaper and medical bags are exempt, according to Mays. Exemptions can also be made on a case-by-case basis.
The signs outside of Bexley Park and Quarry North Park have been posted for about a week.
In that time, Mays said there haven't been any issues.
If there is anyone violating the policy, he said a conversation will be had with the individual to educate them and have an understanding of why the mask/oversized bag is necessary.
If compliance isn't met, the individual will be asked to leave the park.
From there, if they don't leave the park, Mays said refusal could lead to a misdemeanor count of criminal trespassing.
"It's not against the law to wear a facial covering. Our goal is to just educate them and say, 'Hey, here's why we're asking you these questions, here's what we're trying to accomplish,'" Mays said.
Those thought to be in violation of the policy will be approached by park security or a South Euclid officer. Surveillance cameras in the area will also be utilized to monitor the parks, according to Mays.
"We're not trying to be overly intrusive. We're just trying to make a safe environment for everyone," Mays said.
I asked a South Euclid resident Facebook group on Wednesday for feedback on the new policy. Reviews were mixed. Most were in support of it, though.
ACLU of Ohio spokesperson and Legislative Director Gary Daniels sees the policy as problematic.
"The mask policy that's being rolled out, it is both rather nonsensical and problematic from a First Amendment standpoint," he told me. "The policy clearly is aimed at people engaged in or about to engage in or planning on engaging in some sort of criminal activity. Whether they're wearing a mask or not, enforce the law."
Daniels said there are a variety of reasons someone may be wearing a facial covering that aren't explicitly mentioned in the policy.
"Sometimes people engage in political protests wearing masks, you know, you can see it on an almost daily basis. Somebody wants to protest against Donald Trump or have a 'No Kings' rally, something like that. Sometimes you would see people known as LARPers, live action roleplaying. Facial recognition technology is another reason why increasingly people have been wearing masks with regard to political protests and similar gatherings. They don't want their government surveilling them," Daniels said.
Daniels said he finds it hard to believe this policy won't be selectively applied.
"Kind of a slippery slope there as to how this is going to be enforced and against whom. We think it would be prudent for South Euclid to abandon this," Daniels said. "I wouldn't be surprised if, at some point, people reach out to us that live in the South Euclid area."
Right now, the signs you see at park entrances are temporary. How the impact turns out will be reviewed, and the potential for permanent signage will be evaluated, according to Mays.
"It's sort of still being developed," Mays said. "What we wanna do is put something up that's like a typical city sign that you would see someplace, but a little bit larger than normal. It's gonna have a lot more on there. It's gonna talk about the different activities that are available in the park. It's gonna talk about when the park opens and closes, and just a handful of different rules. We're not 100% sure that we're going to continue this policy because everything that we do, we want to evaluate it, reassess it, figure out is it working or is it not working."
If the policy ends up being fruitful, Mays said the city could pass an ordinance on it.
