A California father is fighting back after he and his son were escorted off campus by a police officer for not wearing a mask.
According to the Daily Mail, the father, who identifies only as Shawn, was confronted by police Thursday at Theuerkauf Elementary School in Mountain View, California, which is also dubbed Silicon Valley.
In a video recorded by Shawn, the little boy is being escorted by the school principal.
"I'm sorry," Michelle Williams, the principal, says, "he's not able to come in unless he has his mask on. I welcome him here, and I've said this before, and I'll say it again: I want him here, but it is our district's policy that students have to wear a mask."
"He is a lovely child," she continued. "We are here to support and serve him. I am here to serve all our students on our campus. I cannot keep spending time on this same issue. I'm going to have to have you removed from campus if you do not leave at this time."
After the lecture from the principal, a police officer can be seen moving into the camera frame.
"I can't say what they are doing is wrong," the officer says understandingly. "I can't say what you are doing is wrong. Both sides have valid points. For me, I just have to ensure on the campus as a whole that kids get their education."
"You seem like a good dude; you seem like a good father," the officer added.
The seven-day rolling average for COVID-19 cases in the area, which is one of the richest in the nation, is 544.
Following new guidelines Friday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Mountain View Whisman School District changed its policy so students would no longer be required to wear masks.
But, according to Shawn, the new policy is just one change in a line of capricious mask policies the district has been enduring.
"They have not rescinded the policy," the father explained. "Ultimately, what we are trying to do is get parental choice or parental opt out."
The father added he, along with other parents, have created a group called Mountain View Parents United to help end the mask mandates entirely.
"I do have a medical background; I've worked extensively in the healthcare environment," he said. "I'm well-versed in medical law. And, in essence, they are breaking it. They feel like they can walk all over it. If a patient does not offer consent, they can not touch the patient."
"We're going to continue to challenge this."
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.