With much of the world under stay-at-home orders, police are becoming the enforcers of a new coronavirus code that demands complete isolation and obedience. Empowered by tough new laws and public pressure, officers are testing how far to go in punishing behavior that is ordinarily routine. Some Australian authorities have threatened people sitting alone drinking coffee with six months in jail. In Britain, the police came under fire for using a drone to film and shame a couple walking a dog on a secluded path. In other countries, enforcement has been much more aggressive and escalated into serious violence, the New York Times reports.
Kenyan officers are under investigation in several cases, including the death of a teenager shot while standing on a balcony during a dusk-to-dawn curfew. The police used tear gas and batons on passengers at a ferry terminal and are being investigated in at least two other deaths, leading President Uhuru Kenyatta to say he regretted the violence. In the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the police and the military to shoot anyone who “causes commotion,” after 20 protesters were arrested as they demanded food during the country’s lockdown. There is a long history of aggressive policing during crises, with officers enforcing travel restrictions and issuing citations for spitting. What’s different now is that orders to stay home are widespread, forcing governments to grapple with how policing should work when it’s not entirely clear what activities are prohibited, or why one might be riskier than another. “People are writing a new playbook daily on how to deal with this thing,” said Chuck Wexler of the Police Executive Research Forum. “The key question is: How can the police serve in a reassuring role?”