Contra Costa County declares indefinite curfew in response to civil unrest

The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors has unanimously passed a proclamation of local emergency and has installed a countywide curfew for 8 p.m., doing so in response to the civil unrest that has swept throughout the country and region following George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police.

Starting on Tuesday, the curfew requires Contra Costa County residents and visitors to stay indoors from 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. the following day, until further notice.

“These are challenging times. The sorrow and pain that have filled our hearts here in our Bay Area home cannot be denied. The need and right to protest and be heard are ones that we all support,” said Supervisor Candace Andersen, chair of the county Board of Supervisors. “Today’s emergency proclamation and curfew order will help the county respond to looting, vandalism and any violence that should not be part of peaceful protests. That we do not support, as they only hurt our communities. We want peaceful protests, and we want all members of the public to be safe.”

The county proclamation recognizes that the majority of protesters have acted peacefully and lawfully; however, some throughout the country — including in local communities such as Walnut Creek, San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose — have resulted in riots and looting.

“Mr. Floyd tragically died just over a week ago. We recognize the importance of peaceful protests,” said County Administrator David J. Twa, who serves as the Administrator of Emergency Services. “We also want to emphasize the need for residents to stay home in the evenings and at night to stay safe. Our job is to protect lives — all lives. We want all people to stay safe during these difficult times.”

Neighboring Alameda County residents are also ordered to remain inside their homes between the hours of 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. each day until June 5, with the exception of emergency first responders, media, people experiencing homelessness, those seeking medical care, and people traveling to or from work.

Locally, a peaceful protest was held in Dublin on Monday, where hundreds of residents gathered to protest police brutality around the country, as well as the death of Floyd, who was suffocated by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin while in police custody.

At least two more Tri-Valley protests are planned, with one scheduled to be held in San Ramon at 5 p.m. on Wednesday. That protest will begin at the Gale Ranch Plaza, 11000 Bollinger Canyon Road, and take protesters on a march to City Hall, 7000 Bollinger Canyon Road.

In Pleasanton, residents are also preparing for a protest, which will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday in front of the Amador Valley High School Theater, 1155 Santa Rita Road.

In a special address to local residents, San Ramon Police Chief Craig Stevens said, “This has been a difficult week for all of us. We have been both dismayed and disheartened. We were all dismayed when the video surfaced showing the death and the manner (in) which George Floyd was killed. We’ve been disheartened by the level of civil unrest that we have seen play out locally and across our entire country. But we understand people’s raw emotions; we understand people’s concerns and frustrations.”

“What we witnessed with George Floyd, there is no place for it in our profession. It has certainly cast a dark cloud over our entire profession. That is going to take a lot of work and effort on the part of law enforcement throughout the world to try to overcome and get past this,” he added.