Sheriff Hammond Statement on Enforcement of Mandatory Mask Order

Sheriff Jim Hammond is offering the following statement regarding county officials’ mask mandate and the sheriff’s office’s enforcement efforts.

“In light of the alarming increase of COVID-19 cases we are seeing in Hamilton County, I support the County Mayor’s efforts to slow the spread of this virus,” Hammond said in a press release. “While the mask mandate may not be popular with all our citizens, the safety and well-being of our community is paramount as we attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19.

“As a health department order, there are legal actions that can be taken against those who choose to violate this mandate. As a Class C misdemeanor, this includes a $50 fine and up to 30 days in jail. However, it is neither my goal nor my objective to have my deputies actively seeking violators out. I am leaving the enforcement of this order to my deputies’ discretion to be reviewed on a case by case basis.

“It is my hope our citizens will understand the importance of slowing the spread of COVID-19 and comply with this order as directed.”

About Dick Cook

Dick Cook has lived in East Ridge since the Kennedy Administration when his parents bought a house on Marietta Street. Dick graduated from ERHS in 1976 before going on to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he studied Political Science. Dick worked for the Chattanooga Free-Press and the Chattanooga Times Free Press for 22 years. Free-Press Sports Editor Roy Exum plucked him out of production in 1989 and gave him a job as a sports reporter. Dick covered everything from prep sports to the whitewater events on the Ocoee River for the 1996 Olympics. When Chattanooga's two paper's merged, he became the Crime Reporter covering both the Chattanooga Police and Fire Departments. He was among reporters who were honored by the Associated Press for the TFP's coverage of the 2002 fog-shrouded crash on I-75 in Catoosa County, Dick and his wife, Cathy, live on Marlboro Avenue where they are seen frequently chasing around their three grandsons.

About Dick Cook

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