Woman Fined $200 For 'Going For A Drive' Amid Pandemic

It’s getting weird out there. Really weird. 

A Pennsylvania woman was stopped by police and issued a citation on Sunday after she went for a leisurely drive during the statewide stay-at-home order intended to stem the spread of coronavirus.

Anita Shaffer, 19, of York County, said she left her home Sunday evening for a short drive when she was pulled over by two state troopers. She faces a ticket of at least $202.25 for breaking the state’s Disease Control and Prevention Act of 1955. She pleaded not guilty, The Patriot-News reported.

Shaffer said she saw the police cars parked, the paper wrote. “After passing them, the police started following her until they pulled her over in Red Lion. One of the troopers said they stopped her because her taillight was out, she said. The trooper also mentioned that her window tinting was too dark, she said.” 

She said the troopers also asked her if she was under the influence or on drugs. She told them she wasn’t but she said she was still told to step out of her car and troopers shined a flashlight in her eyes. Then the trooper told her to return to her car.

“He asked me if I was aware of the stay-at-home act,” she said. She responded: “I am aware of it but I didn’t know it pertained to just driving.”

The trooper told her he wasn’t going to fine her for the window tint or taillight “but you should be at home during this act that’s in place right now and just get the taillight fixed,” Shaffer said. Once she got home, she and her father Neil Shaffer said they discovered the taillight was working fine.

On the citation, it states she “failed to abide by the order of the governor and secretary of health issued to control the spread of a communicable disease, requiring the closure of all non-life-sustaining businesses as of 20:00 hours on March 19, 2020. To wit, defendant states that she was ‘going for a drive’ after this violation was in effect.”

Meanwhile, residents of a Louisiana Parish complained last week that police signaled the start of a mandatory curfew by blasting a siren.

Responding to criticism on Facebook, the Crowley Police Department issued a stern response. “Acadia Parish received the worse rating for the rapid spread of the virus. It has been put into place in order try and slow the spread. There is nothing anyone needs to be on the roads besides emergency situations. If you don’t want to comply with the orders of the Sheriff and the Chiefs, you will dealt [sic] with accordingly.”

And in New York City, residents have been asked to report their neighbors who violate “social distancing” restrictions.