(BALTIMORE SUN) — When city officials arrived at a packed Baltimore church that had repeatedly violated coronavirus rules and ignored their efforts to shut it down, at least one police officer planned to try to disperse the crowd.
But after about half an hour of debate, which played out on body camera footage obtained by the Baltimore Sun, law enforcement decided to stand down and let the service continue on that Wednesday evening in March.
And for two weeks, Greater Grace World Outreach Church in Northeast Baltimore continued to hold services without requiring masks and social distancing before agreeing to follow the city’s guidelines. It was fined a total of $100 because someone removed the health department’s closure sign from a church door.
