An off-duty Arnold Police officer allegedly confronted a Rockwood School District bus driver this morning (Dec. 10) about the requirement for students to wear masks on school buses, Eureka Police reported.

Lt. Tom Wille said the alleged confrontation occurred about 7 a.m. in the 5000 block of Eagle Wing Court in Eureka. He said the bus was picking up students who attend LaSalle Springs Middle School in Wildwood, which enrolls children from both Eureka and Wildwood.

Eureka Police reported that two students boarded the bus without masks, which violates the federal Public Health Service Act that requires all persons to wear masks on public transportation.

The driver told police that after she asked the students to put on masks, a parent came to the door of the bus and said it was against the law for the driver to force anyone to wear a mask. The man then asked the bus driver for a phone number of someone at the district he could talk with about the mask policy, according to the report.

The man stepped away from the bus as the driver retrieved the number, and then the driver waved for the man to come back to the bus door. However, the man stepped onto the first step of the bus while she gave him a name and number to call about his complaint. The man said he got on the bus step so he could better hear the woman, Eureka Police reported.

The man got off the step and walked away from the bus. The man never identified himself as a police officer, the report said.

Wille said the driver told police she was shaken up after the confrontation and has asked the school district to assign her to a different route.

Arnold Police Chief Bob Shockey confirmed the man who argued with the driver is an officer with his department. He said the officer was not wearing a police uniform during the incident but did have his badge and holstered firearm attached to his belt.

Shockey said his department is reviewing the incident to determine if disciplinary action is warranted.

Mary LaPak, Rockwood executive director of communications, said the district has started an internal investigation into what happened and has reported the incident to Eureka Police.

Attorney General Eric Schmitt, a Republican running for the U.S. Senate, issued a letter Tuesday (Dec. 7) to local public health agencies and school districts informing them that their COVID-19 health orders are prohibited because of Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green’s ruling on Nov. 23. In that ruling, Green said all health orders related to the spread of COVID-19 in the state should be lifted because they violate the state constitution’s separation of power clause affecting the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government.

The orders from Green’s decision are scheduled to go into effect Dec. 22, the Department of Health and Senior Services reported.

On Wednesday (Dec. 8), Schmitt created an email address, illegalmandates@ago.mo.gov, and asked parents to report school district enforcing COVID-19 orders.

School buses fall under federal transportation rule, not state or local policies, meaning bus regulations would not be affected by Green’s ruling last month.

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