Every county sheriff in the Los Angeles region has reportedly declined to enforce the new near-statewide curfew announced Thursday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Reporter Bill Melugin of Fox’s Los Angeles affiliate, KTTV-11, tweeted Friday:
Some city sheriffs, Melugin noted, would enforce the curfew:
As Breitbart News reported Thursday, Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes issued a statement saying that his officers would emphasize an “education-first approach” but would not respond to calls only related to coronavirus enforcement:
Earlier today, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department became aware of a limited Stay at Home Order that Governor Newsom’s office ordered to go into effect on Saturday, November 21 at 10 PM.
Throughout the pandemic, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department has taken an education-first approach with regard to the public health orders.
We are currently assessing the action by the Governor.
At this time, due to the need to have deputies available or emergency calls for service, deputies will not be responding to requests for face-coverings or social gatherings-only enforcement.
Newsom announced the curfew Thursday, after hinting earlier in the week that he was studying curfews in other states and countries, including Saudi Arabia.
The curfew will begin Saturday, November 21, at 10:00 p.m., and will run from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. for a month. It will apply to “purple” tier counties, which include nearly the entire state of California.
California, like other states, is suffering a coronavirus surge.
