California code officers are seeing a rise in the number of threats of physical harm while enforcing COVID-related restrictions.
President of the California Association of Code Enforcement Officers Darrell Revier says more than 20 incidents involving some kind of threat against a code enforcement officer were documented last year.
Revier says code enforcement officers are often contacted after law enforcement to investigate if a business is violating COVID restrictions. Complaints range from not enforcing proper physical distancing requirements to businesses being open when they are considered "non-essential" during the pandemic. Revier says every incident that is documented will be reported to local law enforcement. He adds there is a formal mechanism for appealing a code enforcement officer's decision, but officers also know how to de-escalate tense encounters through extensive training.