Usually, when it comes to Americans refusing to wear a face mask in public, sympathies are limited.

Those who enter supermarkets and retail outlets without wearing one are endangering the lives of employees, as well as other customers, and the anti-mask brigade has really veered into some strange, surreal territory.

It’s not that hard – wear a face mask, reduce the risk of spreading the virus, and show some basic empathy for your fellow humans.

In the case of Alecia Kitts, things aren’t so clearcut, and the police officer responsible for taking her away in handcuffs below has come under criticism for his heavy-handed tactics.

Kitts was at a school football game in Logan, Ohio, last week, when the officer told her she needed to cover her face or leave.

The 34-year-old declined either of those options, was then Tasered, and arrested.

Not that this is a laughing matter, but it’s just so American.

Football – check. Cheerleaders – check. Yet another public face mask showdown – check:

Witnesses say that before the video began, Kitts was repeatedly asked to wear a face mask, but declined, saying she has asthma.

In the aftermath of the footage being widely shared, the officer responsible for the arrest, school resource officer Chris Smith, has been taken off active duty, due to threats made against him.

The Logan-Hocking School District also enacted “a lockout status district-wide”, due to threatening calls, with no outsiders allowed into the area’s schools.

Kitts’ lawyers say she wasn’t breaking any law, reports the Washington Post, but authorities disagree:

“Ms. Kitts was obviously alone with her children, outdoors, at a distance of much greater than six feet from anyone else,” attorney Maurice A. Thompson told WCMH television. “Thus, she broke no Ohio law, not even the governor’s own legally dubious health directives upon which the school relied.”

Authorities, though, say they were merely enforcing statewide restrictions in a state that has recorded more than 150,000 covid-19 cases and more than 4,700 deaths to date.

The local police department has stressed that Kitts wasn’t arrested for her refusal to wear a face mask, but rather “resisting arrest and obstructing official business”.

She was also charged with criminal trespassing.

Logan-Hocking Superintendent Monte Bainter said that the rules are clear:

 “Bottom line is we require you to wear a mask whether it’s in school or at events,” Bainter told the Daily News. “You have to wear a mask, and if you don’t wear a mask then you’re asked to leave…

“I’m not going to change that. I’m not,” he commented. “You have to wear masks to events. That’s the guidelines, that’s the rules, and that’s what we have to do.”

Kitts is scheduled to appear in Hocking County Municipal Court on October 7.

[source:washpost]