Shawnee has faced resistance in recent weeks from a handful of people trying to enter city hall without a mask.
Two women, both Shawnee residents, spoke at a recent Shawnee City Council meeting against the city’s mask requirement, which follows Johnson County’s current public health order.
The county’s health order is in effect through the end of April, though the Board of County Commissioners could choose to extend it.
Below is a copy of Shawnee’s city policy, which city staff gave to those who tried to enter the council chambers without wearing a mask or providing documentation of a medical exemption.
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Open in new tab Not only instances of pushback in Johnson County
City staff said the two women who spoke against the mask requirement during Monday’s city council meeting ended up using a wireless microphone staff provided while standing outside Shawnee City Hall, since they were not allowed in the building.
In general, the city’s policy says masks must be worn while speaking into the microphone at city meetings.
On March 22, another resident who refused to wear a mask at city hall interrupted the start of a city meeting for more than 15 minutes, objecting to the masking requirements.
Major Jim Baker with the Shawnee Police Department said officers have removed two people from public meetings on two separate occasions for refusing to wear a mask.
Shawnee is not the only local governing body facing such resistance.
In recent weeks, the Blue Valley School District, USD 232 in De Soto and the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners have all faced varying levels of pushback from residents who oppose mask requirements.
Johnson County Commissioner Charlotte O’Hara sued the Blue Valley School District because she was not allowed to enter a board of education hearing without a mask. A judge later dismissed O’Hara’s suit.
This all comes as vaccinations in Johnson County increase and new cases of COVID-19 decline.
Still, public health officials have warned that relaxing safety measures like masking and social distancing could lead to a resurgence in local spread and hamper efforts to reopen society and the economy.
What the county’s order says
Johnson County’s public health order, which passed the commission by a 5-2 vote on March 25, requires masks be worn in public places through at least April 30.
That includes:
- inside public spaces,
- while waiting in line to enter a public building,
- in a health care setting,
- on public transportation,
- and outdoors where distancing is impossible.
Shawnee city staff said the city’s policy is based on the county’s public health order.
The women who spoke against the mask requirement Monday argued they had medical exemptions from wearing masks, and said they shouldn’t have to provide written documentation of a medical exemption.
The county’s order does list several exceptions to the mask requirement but is silent on the specific issue of whether exempted individuals must provide documentation of a medical condition that allows them to go without a mask.
The residents’ and city’s sides
At Monday’s meeting, Debbie Detmer said she wanted to know who required that masks be worn in Shawnee City Hall.
She called the city’s policy “fraud,” saying that the city policy differs from the county’s public health order.
Joann Atchity agreed, saying that she identified herself as being exempt from wearing a mask, but was told that if she couldn’t prove a medical exemption, then she couldn’t enter the building. She and others sat outside city hall instead.
“This is a public space,” Atchity said. “This is beyond the pale. Welcome, folks, to Shawnee, the new land of the Jim Crow, with the separate but equal. This is highly, highly unacceptable. This is utterly ridiculous.”
Atchity said she has attended county board of commissioners meetings without a mask, and there is “absolutely zero justification” for Shawnee city staff to deny her entry.
“I’m embarrassed on your behalf and ashamed of this behavior,” Atchity added. “I would like to conclude by saying I am sovereign, and I will not veil my face for any elected or appointed official.”
City leaders and staff gave no comments during the meeting, but Ellis Rainey, city attorney, provided the Shawnee Mission Post with the following statement:
“City staff and City attorneys created guidelines to maintain City public facilities in compliance with the Johnson County Public Health Order while public meetings are in progress. As mandated by the Order, all organizations in Johnson County must require visitors or members of the public to wear a protective face covering in facilities managed by the organization. Individuals attending public meetings or entering public facilities have the same obligation to comply with the Order. The City therefore requires people to wear protective face coverings inside City facilities, including City Hall.
The Order provides an exemption for a medical condition when the condition prevents a person from wearing a face covering. The City therefore provides accommodations if someone chooses not to wear a face covering or refuses to provide reasonable documentation of a medical condition. Those accommodations are included in the attached guidelines which provide alternatives to allow a person to observe and comment at public meetings.
As always, we are constantly reviewing and updating procedures and guidelines as we work to adapt to the changing local, regional and national pandemic guidelines.”
Below is the video recording of the Shawnee City Council meeting. The portion of the meeting that includes Detmer’s and Atchity’s complaints begins at 2:16:14.
