Police department’s quarantine plea: Wear pants when going out to the mailbox

Working from home week after week (after week) amid the coronavirus lockdown, it’s easy to skip daily rituals like showering, raking a comb through your hair or putting on pants.  

And the Taneytown Police Department in Maryland has something to say about that fashion faux pas. “Please remember to put pants on before leaving the house to check your mailbox,” the department posted to its official Facebook page Tuesday. “You know who you are. This is your final warning.”

It’s unclear whether police in the Carroll County town of 7,000 have actually spotted pants-free citizens checking their mail or are just trying to lighten the mood. In these stressful times, it’s not hard to imagine joining a Zoom call sans slacks and then absent-mindedly popping outside before realizing you’re only half-dressed. 

Officials from the Taneytown Police Department weren’t immediately available for comment, and local ABC news affiliate WMAR wasn’t able to definitively resolve the mystery when it dug for the perpetrator around town. “I know a friend that used to do that, and he lives in Taneytown,” McKenzie Carter told a reporter when she learned of the post. 

Pants-free citizens or not, the department’s social media humor isn’t going unnoticed by the public. 

“What an awesome and very service-oriented FB site,” one visitor wrote. “What a great job making the public feel comfortable with the police.”

On Thursday, the Taneytown police shared more pants humor by reposting a bulletin from the Holliston Police Department in Massachusetts asking for help identifying a missing item — pants made out of fabric. “We are unfamiliar with it, as residents are typically seen wearing cotton sweatpants, yoga pants, leggings, or other stretchy material. It does not appear to be from the year 2020,” the bulletin reads.  

“Oh I remember those,” one person responded. Wrote another, “Looks like some sort of ancient torture device.” 

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