Coronavirus News: Couple handcuffed, ticketed by police after refusing to wear masks on ferry

COVID-19 News and Information

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Sunday, September 6, 2020
Couple taken off ferry by police after refusing to wear masks
A couple was handcuffed and removed from a ferry by police officers after they refused to wear face masks in Brooklyn Saturday.

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- A couple was handcuffed and removed from a ferry by police officers after they refused to wear face masks in Brooklyn Saturday.

Police said officers were called to Pier 6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park just after 10 p.m. for a call of disorderly people.

The captain of an NYC Ferry told them that a 53-year-old man and a 37-year-old woman refused to leave the ferry when they were told get off for not wearing masks.

The pair were taken into custody and ticketed for disorderly conduct and for violating an emergency measure.

According to Gothamist, the couple refused to disembark after refusing the captain's order to wear a mask.

The pair claimed they had a constitutional right to ride mask-free because they both have a medical condition that exempts them from the governor's order, according to Gothamist reporter Jake Offenhartz.

The woman told Gothamist they're suing the MTA for the criticism they experienced while riding maskless on a bus and now they want to sue the ferry company as well.

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