Mayor Paul TenHaken has insisted through three months of the coronavirus pandemic that he lacks the authority to shut down his city to protect lives from covid-19. It took a month of coronavirus and one of the worst outbreaks in the nation at Smithfield Foods Sioux Falls to get TenHaken to even consider a stay-at-home order, but he declined to take that action.
But it only takes one evening of rock-throwing and window-smashing by local youths to realize he can unilaterally order Sioux Falls to stay home:
The City of Sioux Falls issued a declaration of emergency and Governor Kristi Noem activated the National Guard after protesters congregated at The Empire Mall on Sunday night.
Dozens of police units descended on the Empire Mall after protesters began to congregate there and throw rocks at police, according to a Tweet from the Sioux Falls Police Department. Protesters had dispersed as of 11 p.m.
The emergency declaration says that curfew is in place from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. for the entire city of Sioux Falls. It had previously been for the area bordered by 57th Street on the south to 26th Street on the north, Kiwanis Avenue on the east and Interstate-29 on the west, according to the City of Sioux Falls, but was extended to the entire city shortly afterward [Trevor J. Mitchell and Cory Myers, “City Issues Curfew, Guard Activated After Protests at Empire Mall,” that Sioux Falls paper, updated 2020.06.01].
A new deadly disease pops up and starts killing South Dakotans, and our leaders wring their hands over government overreach and wonder if we should just let nature take its course. But make a ruckus at the mall, without killing or seriously injuring anyone, and Mayor TenHaken immediately discovers his power to deprive regular citizens of their normal liberty.
Property protection has always been more important to life protection to the “pro-life” “conservative”. Police force has it origin in slave patrols you know – when the status of back people wads that of property first, people second. THIS is the true history of the United States. All that freedom and liberty stuff was just marketing at the start.
Amazin’, ain’t it?
I live in sioux falls and I think the mayor’s decisions on both were pretty spot-on, and I didn’t even vote for the guy. These two threats are very different. Most of the info I have seen is showing that face masks and social distancing are the best ways to beat the virus, and that lock downs aren’t particularly useful. So, when dealing with something like a virus, protections like face masks and limiting group gatherings are appropriate responses. When dealing with window smashers and rock throwers, I don’t think strapping a cloth face mask on is going to do much good. That seems like much more of an immediate threat that needs to be dealt with accordingly.
Wonder if the mayor has a bunker under city hall with big dogs and such? Pretty interesting that Cory Lewandowski called out the National Guard in Sioux Falls, tomorrow, Polo.
Are we selling any soybeans yet? How ’bout corn? How is all that going? Any word on the testing at the nursing homes and assisted living facilities? Any ideas about going back to school in a couple of months?
The test will be in the aftermath. Will Mayor TenHaken (and all the others who made the same claim) hear what the protests were about? Will he take action on the issues of institutional racism and make affirmative steps to equalize opportunity for people of color in his city? — OR will he “let people have their voices head” with no action to follow?
This question has to plague, if peaceful protest never leads to reform, if harmful, dehumanizing, conditions are perpetuating in the face of peaceful protest, then what? How does an unjust system reform?
I have to agree with Richard, property damage gets a quick and sure response from the system. Is there the same swift redress for a pull-over for “driving while black” or denying credit to people of color, or any of the other issues of inequality underlying this protest?
Geez, Jerry, one step at a time. We haven’t finished the “wall” yet! ;-)
What you’re seeing now is irrelevant, Ryan, to comparing the decisions made over time prior to what you see now.
Coronavirus is an ongoing, deadly threat with no known cure. Mayor TenHaken consistently resisted drastic government intervention.
Riot is a brief, easily managed threat. Mayor TenHaken immediately resorted to drastic government crackdown beyond police response to the scene of the crime itself, choosing to lock down an entire city even after the hazard had mostly abated.
Call me crazy, but I think most people understand that a violent, rock-throwing mob needs more immediate and aggressive response than a virus of unknown concern.
Again, I didn’t vote for this fellow who is now serving as our mayor, but I am glad that he understands that different problems require different solutions. Maybe next time there is a mob threatening the immediate safety of thousands of innocent people, he will ask us all to wash our hands for 20 seconds. Then you can rejoice in his consistency.
Actually, there is a consistency here. Having no stay-at-home order protects businesses. Having a curfew during rioting protects businesses. This is just further proof that the GOP is about protecting businesses and not people.
I counted seventeen police vehicles at the Empire Mall last night. But how many law enforcement officials are currently protecting your grandmother from COVID, right now?
But the again, wasn’t it the Republican president, Calvin Coolidge, who once said, “that the business of America is business”?
John, did you forget that the mayor sought input from other city officials and did indeed drastically reduce the amount of business that these businesses can do through city ordinance? It’s almost like he took reasonable steps to balance individual freedoms against an uncertain health concern, while avoiding unilateral actions that might come across as tyrannical…seems like a decent modus operandi if you ask me.
17 police vehicles… to protects dozens of businesses… comprising the life’s work of hundreds of people…that employ thousands of other people…hmmm…again, seems reasonable.
And finally…”how many law enforcement officials are currently protecting your grandmother from COVID, right now?” Well, zero. You know why? Because law enforcement is intended to enforce laws. The cops didn’t protect my gramma from cancer, either. The cops didn’t stop my shingles 12 years ago, either. Man, that was a pain-filled two weeks. WHERE WERE THOSE COPS!? haha duh
Racist Ryan strikes again. It’s okay for cops to go after POC who are protesting because they don’t want to be killed by cops, because there are businesses to protect.
Businesses are more important than Black Lives.
Oh, and highly contagious COVID-19 is equal to not at all contagious cancer.
In Minnesota Gov. Walz and Mayors Frey and Carter both affirmed that lives were more important than businesses. Many business owners agreed. But not Racist Ryan! There are his priorities, clear as crystal.
but I think most people understand that a violent, rock-throwing mob needs more immediate and aggressive response than a virus of unknown concern.
107k Americans dead in three months of a new virus is an unknown concern? How many died from violent rock throwers?
I believe Ryan is crazy.
107,000 Killed in Action that we think. Could be twice to three times that many. 41,000,000 million out of work, economy in a shambles, no testing, business closings are nothing to trump. A fake stock market that is playing with loaded dice while it fleeces the American taxpayer is nothing to trump because all of his cronies are cashing in. What a country.
Ryan, the question: “…how many law enforcement officials are currently protecting your grandmother from COVID, right now,” speaks to the capabilities of those who are in charge and also in charge to protect all from COVID. Your understanding of my comment is shortsighted.
Also, where did I criticize the use of the police to protect businesses? I am criticizing that all decisions seemed to be based around the issue of businesses. And this must be remembered the next time a conservative politician in this state claims to be “pro-life”.
The “reasonable steps” that you allege, that the mayor took, are not reasonable if you have a heart condition, diabetes, are over 60, and or confined to a nursing home or retirement center, however. The confinement of them is not enough, because often they interact with some of the lowest paying citizens in our state, who tend to be more likely exposed to COVID-19, than upper-income and affluent citizens, who own our state’s businesses for the most part.
debbo, you are saying I said things that I didn’t say again. Classic. Maybe those bifocals need to be trifocals. You can call me racist ryan all you want but it doesn’t change my belief in equality among races and it doesn’t change your belief in division by race. It’s about time you went out to pasture, ma’am.
mike – pay attention, I said an uncertain health concern. Which it is. And which it was even more so months ago when tenhaken had to figure out what to do with conflicting information everywhere.
When a violent group of people is destroying property and putting lives at risk RIGHT NOW, the right thing to do is involve law enforcement. When a new virus is threatening and the information about that virus changes every day, the right thing to do is less obvious.
Ryan, you said what you said. I copied it word for word and you were speaking of the here and now, not months ago. There is virtually no uncertainty about this pandemic other than how bad drumpf will screw the whole mess up.
And, to my way of thinking, zero dead from tossing rocks is not near as bad as 107k dead from a mishandled pandemic. But that is just me. I value minority lives over thrown rocks.
The observations of the FSD mayor as a weakling are spot on. He should have nipped the FSD Covid19 in the bud — closing Smithfield & locking down the nursing homes and senior care facilities. Perhaps the lives and votes of immigrants and elderly lack value. We’ve see more leadership from the now beleaguered Boy Scouts.
Certainly there is a role for community policing against violence, burglary, and property destruction — but if the store owners were r e a l l y concerned they could have hired security guards? They could have armed and posted themselves at their stores. Did they have surveillance up trying to identify the perpetrators? Must we fully socialize the risk of all businesses?
Mike, it definitely still is uncertain, a fact being proven daily as projections change and projections are shown to be way off, and as public guidance from WHO and CDC changed numerous times.
John, careful, it sounds like you are blaming a victim. The left leaning mob that lives in these comments will lynch you for blaming a victim for not taking precautions against attack.
41,000,000 million out of work. 25% of the workforce, idle. Might be a good time to do some infrastructure work. Put people to work and pay them a living wage so they can live honestly and with dignity. Hire people as equals.
Instead of killing and beating people in the street, give them a future that is equal in justice for all. Good citizens need good paychecks for their future.
John, you are correct. The mayor should have shut down the meat packing plant to save lives. Now he has the blood on his hands of those that have died needlessly under his authority.
107k dead in three months is a certified fact (and the actual count is likely much higher). Zero rock throwers are dead and that is pretty much a fact. Quite the hoax.
Nationally we’ve lost our way. This nation’s founders refused, refused to establish a police force. This nation’s founders rightly feared the policing tyranny we’ve now foisted upon ourselves.
Policing was once the province of citizens and local governance. Generations later our nation slowly evolved to establish policing agencies.
While we should not return to that era of no police forces because forensic science evolved to where we need a trained, disciplined police force. Too many are missing the “disciplined”. The state’s training and certifying commission, here the Standards and Training Commission, should require periodic reports of officer complaints and actions taken – to include retraining and the Commission’s decertification. The role of the commission should be similar to that of the state medical board and bar – train, track, discipline, and decertify malcontents. All this information should be transparent for the public. When one asks, ‘who is policing the police’ — the insufficient answer is, well, the depends on the vulgarities and prejudices of the 18,000 policing jurisdictions. That’s unacceptable. It allows a bad cop to take a job 2 towns over.
John! Whoa! I agree with everything you said in your 20:02 comment! Man, with reason and articulation like that, this bunch on here is going to turn on you quick! Godspeed.
I meant 20:12!