Belvedere cops can now issue citations to enforce mask rules

Belvedere is giving police new flexibility to issue citations for violations of face-covering mandates amid the coronavirus pandemic, allowing for a sting to the pocketbook without handing residents a rap sheet. In his capacity as the city’s director of emergency services, City Manager Craig Middleton issued an emergency order July 8 that allows police to issue administrative citations of $100 for the first violation, $200 for the second violation within a year and $500 for each subsequent violation of the existing orders of the Marin Department of Health and Human Services and of the California Department of Public Health. The order does not create new face-covering rules in Belvedere. The state and county orders already allow for police enforcement, but the penalty carries a misdemeanor charge with up to a $1,000 fine, jail time or both.

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