Cops Across the Country Cracking Down on Coronavirus Gatherings

Snitching is in when it comes to social distancing anyway — people have been blowing the whistle on violators, and now police everywhere are cracking down.

Cops across the country tell TMZ … they’ve been flooded with complaints about large gatherings where people are clearly defying coronavirus safety precautions. How flooded? An NYPD spokesman says, “Cops have visited tens of thousands of locations on their social distancing patrols & also have responded to thousands of 311 calls.”

We’re also told from March 17 through April 8, they arrested 13 people and issued 61 tickets. Keep in mind, Gov. Cuomo‘s given the green light to $1,000 fines for violations, so … it’s no cheap ticket.

We’re told the folks who were arrested showed reckless disregard for social distancing and refused to listen to police orders. Despite the crowds in Central Park last weekend … cops say the majority of NYers are following the rules, or quickly adhering when officers remind them to maintain the 6-foot spacing.

There have been NO arrests or tickets in L.A. County as of last weekend … but our law enforcement sources tell us the City Attorney is reviewing 37 cases of alleged social-distancing violations. So, there could be citations coming.

We’re told cops in L.A. are trying to avoid hitting people with expensive tickets right now because people are outta work and struggling during the pandemic. Much like NY, we’re told L.A. cops are mostly seeing people follow orders when told to disperse.

Appropriately, Chicago falls in the middle of L.A. and the Big Apple. CPD spokesperson Maggie Huynh says they made 3 arrests and issued 11 citations related to social distancing last week — but also had to disperse gatherings more than 1,500 times.

Sounds like Miami, at least, is recovering from Florida’s spring break madness because Miami-Dade PD says they’ve made one arrest, but not for social distancing. We’re told it was a boater anchored in an area restricted due to pandemic closures.

There’s equally good news in New Orleans — a COVID-19 hot zone — where NOPD says they’ve issued a “minimal” number of citations since March 20.

While the crowds seem downright dangerous from the standpoint of spreading the virus, by and large, these scenes are limited in scope … at least according to law enforcement, they’re limited events.