SJPD Warns 56 Businesses to Close Under Health Order

As Silicon Valley residents shelter in place, San Jose police Chief Eddie Garcia said his officers have issued more than 50 warnings to non-essential businesses that were continuing to operate in violation of the isolation order.

Health officials from Santa Clara County and several neighboring Bay Area jurisdictions gave the word Monday afternoon for residents to stay at home to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. California Gov. Gavin Newsom followed up Thursday evening by putting the whole state on lockdown, with no end date in site.

But while some businesses have closed up shop for the time being, a number of trades—like banks, grocery stores and take-out only restaurants—are allowed to continue operating since they’re deemed “essential.”

But it turns out, not everyone has complied with the legal order. At a news conference Friday morning, Garcia said officers have had to force the closure of 56 local businesses.

Here’s what they’ve shut down so far:

  • 2 repair shops
  • 3 restaurants
  • 2 clothing stores
  • 14 hair salons
  • 7 barber shops
  • 11 smoke shops
  • 2 flower shops
  • 3 gyms
  • 1 sporting goods store
  • 1 video game store
  • 1 billiards hall
  • 1 gun store
  • 1 recycling center
  • 1 furniture store
  • 1 flea market
  • 1 car wash
  • 1 music store
  • 2 groups playing sports at local parks

On Wednesday, the police department began deploying four “health order compliance” cars during the day shift and four in the evening. Garcia said that, so far, everyone has been given a warning. Next week, however, that will change.

“Our current plan is to move from an education stance to an enforcement stance on any business that have been contacted, warned and then reopened,” he cautions.

The city’s top cop said SJPD would explore criminal citations, licensing sanctions and health code violations for businesses that run afoul of the public health order.

Most of the businesses found to be in violation were simply concerned about paying the bills or confused about which authority they should listen to, Garcia said. Some were simply snubbing the public health edict.

“I mentioned a store right now, a billiards hall,” Garcia said. “Are you kidding me? I mean, I don’t know how a billiards hall thought they could be open at this time.”

But while SJPD cracks down on businesses, Garcia has told his officers that they are not allowed to make car or pedestrian stops solely based on the order because people still have a wide range of legitimate reasons to be out and about.

WATCH LIVE: San Jose mayor and police chief give an update on the shelter-in-place order. Tracking the latest COVID-19 updates here: https://abc7ne.ws/2QxQgOE

Posted by ABC7 News on Friday, March 20, 2020

Below is a list of businesses that are allowed to stay open during the stay-home order (which you can read here).

  1. Healthcare operations and essential infrastructure
  2. Grocery stores, certified farmers markets, farm and produce stands, supermarkets, food banks, convenience stores, and other establishments engaged in the retail sale of canned food, dry goods, fresh fruits and vegetables, pet supply, fresh meats, fish, and poultry, and any other household consumer products (such as cleaning and  personal care products). This includes stores that sell groceries and also sell other non-grocery products, and products necessary to maintaining the safety, sanitation, and essential operation of residences
  3. Food cultivation, including farming, livestock, and fishing
  4. Businesses that provide food, shelter, and social services, and other necessities of life for economically disadvantaged or otherwise needy individuals
  5. Newspapers, television, radio, and other media services
  6. Gas stations and auto-supply, auto-repair, and related facilities
  7. Banks and related financial institutions
  8. Hardware stores
  9. Plumbers, electricians, exterminators, and other service providers who provide services that are necessary to maintaining the safety, sanitation, and essential operation of residences, essential activities, and essential businesses
  10. Businesses providing mailing and shipping services, including post office boxes;
  11. Educational institutions—including public and private K-12 schools, colleges, and universities-for purposes of facilitating distance learning or performing essential functions, provided that social distancing of six-feet per person is maintained to the greatest extent possible
  12. Laundromats, dry cleaners, and laundry service providers
  13. Restaurants and other facilities that prepare and serve food, but only for delivery or carry-out. Schools and other entities that typically provide free food services to students or members of the public may continue to do so under this order on the condition that the food is provided to students or members of the public on a pick-up and take-away basis only. Schools and other entities that provide food services under this exemption shall not permit the food to be eaten at the site where it is provided, or at any other gathering site
  14. Businesses that supply products needed for people to work from home
  15. Businesses that supply other essential businesses with the support or supplies necessary to operate
  16. Businesses that ship or deliver groceries, food, goods or services directly to residences
  17. Airlines, taxis, and other private transportation providing services necessary for essential activities and other purposes expressly authorized in this order
  18. Home-based care for seniors, adults, or children
  19. Residential facilities and shelters for seniors, adults, and children
  20. Professional services, such as legal or accounting services, when necessary to assist in compliance with legally mandated activities
  21. Childcare facilities providing services that enable employees exempted in this Order to work as permitted. To the extent possible, childcare facilities must operate under the following mandatory conditions:
    1. Childcare must be carried out in stable groups of 12 or fewer (“stable” means that the same 12 or fewer children are in the same group each day).
    2. Children shall not change from one group to another.
    3. If more than one group of children is cared for at one facility, each group shall be separate. Groups shall not mix with each other.
    4. Childcare providers shall remain solely with one group of children.

Residents can report non-essential businesses that are still operating by calling the San Jose Police Department’s non-emergency number at 3-1-1. 

6 Comments

  1. What prevents say Gamestop from selling toilet paper or junk food to qualify as an “essential businesses”? Walmart and Target to sell games. Best Buy too and baffled why not deemed “essential businesses”.

    Meanwhile SJPD removes cops from vital public safety duty. SJPD’s response time is worse than 2X the response target https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/san-jose-police-not-responding-fast-enough-to-emergencies-audit/7874/ despite Liccardo promising to fix this 4 years ago while raising costs.

    Many businesses can operate under limited access or take-out restrictions without compromising health risks.

    • > What prevents say Gamestop from selling toilet paper or junk food to qualify as an “essential businesses”?’

      An EXCELLENT question.

      And is the SJPD qualified to judge that a company that sells a widget that makes a thingamabob work is NOT an ESSENTIAL business?

      What if the widget is a commodity part that makes the coronavirus testing machines work?

      Are people supposed to explain to the SJPD how polymerized chain reactions and DNA sequencing machines work? What if the SJPD Community Service Officer flunked out of biology class?

      The experience of the Soviet Union should have proved for all time that central planners do not understand supply chains.

      Expedite the shipment of tank parts. But who needs filter papers. Just use toilet paper.
      Oh, wait. There’s a shortage of toilet paper.

  2. At a news conference Friday morning, San Jose Police Chief Eddie Garcia said officers have had to force the closure of 56 local businesses, which included: 2 repair shops. Sure hope he doesn’t mean car repair! From the Final Signed SCC Order to Shelter in Place:
    f. For the purposes of this Order, “Essential Businesses” means:
    :
    v1. Gas stations and auto-supply, auto-repair, and related facilities;

  3. Home Depot is open, but not the small business owners providing equipment sales & service to rectify a Code Compliance citation? Ditto for small appliance sales/service to prepare food? Best Buy is open, but not small neighborhood stores for their sales / service.

    Yet “essential” booze and pot sales remain unfettered.

    Heard yesterday that SJPD began encrypting radio on 3/16 – same day as county-wide shutdown. No word how other emergency responders will be able to coordinate or how news organizations can do their job.

    Brilliant Mayor FUBAR Liccardo. Absolutely brilliant!

  4. It is no accident that the 3 states with the most repressive new regulations are run by Democrat administrations. They call the orders legal, but are in fact constitutional violations to which none of the sheep and snowflakes in those states have made even a murmur of objections. Even the ACLU is silent as all the lemmings follow the herd over the cliff.
    In turn, the liberal dominated press continues to drink the Koo-Aid fed by Newsom in California.
    We are a nation of over 360million, and everyone is getting their panties in a bunch over a few thousand Covid cases and a few dozen deaths NATIONWIDE.?
    The CDC estimated that during the 2018-2019 flu season, which lasts six months or so, 35.5 MILLION people got the regular old flu, 16.5 million folks visited a doctor or hospital, 490,000 were admitted to a hospital, and there were 34,299 flu-related deaths. In light of that, why the bloody panic over the current small COViD numbers.
    Yet the press keeps feeding a needless panic, which sends people scrambling for toilet paper and Purell, and the stock exchanges are in free fall, which the financial advisors describe as mere volatility rather than the free fall it is, while they stop for a day or two for profit taking. The air waves are crammed with financial “experts” telling us common folk to hold on for the long term while they and Wall Street professionals do exactly the opposite.
    Days ago Newsom spoke of martial law. He has deployed the National Guard for limited duty, which is the first step toward martial law. Rember the tale of putting a frog in cold water and heating it up slowly, and the frog just sitting there until it was eventually cooked? Well, we are the frogs.
    The storm troopers and curfews are on the horizon.

  5. So far all the comments have merit. this is like communist Russia having children turn in their parents. What else can be expected if liberals with no sense keep returning to office. Santa Clara has its own problems…we have to deal with the deceitful 49ers. Our Mayor claims they are screwing the City. They are in second place with the existing majority in -place. Not a bad segue.

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