Couple pulled from NYC ferry in handcuffs for refusing masks

NEW YORK - A couple was taken from a New York City ferry in handcuffs after refusing the captain’s order to wear masks and holding up the ferry's departure for more than an hour while they stood defiantly on the top deck.

Officers were called to the pier in Brooklyn Bridge Park around 10 p.m. Saturday when a ferry captain reported disorderly people, police said. The captain told officers the 53-year-old man and 37-year-old woman refused to get off the boat when they were told to leave for not wearing masks.

The news site Gothamist reports that the pair claimed they have a constitutional right to ride mask-free because they have a medical condition that exempts them from the governor’s coronavirus protection order. They declined to provide evidence of their medical condition to an officer.

As other ferry riders grew impatient with the delay, officers gave the pair a last chance to voluntarily leave before taking out the handcuffs and ticketing the couple for disorderly conduct and violating an emergency order.