On Sunday, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey surprised a majority of Mayors, Police Chiefs and County Sheriffs across the state when he declared an emergency and issued a statewide curfew order. The order came after a night of looting and destruction of property occurred in Scottsdale and is aimed to stop group gatherings after 8 p.m. to help reduce violence at protests. In his Executive Order, Governor Ducey also called up the National Guard to assist with the enforcement and crowd control.
Protests have been started across the nation, state and even in other foreign countries in protest of the death of George Floyd by a Minneapolis Police Officer. The protests have been a call to action and awareness in the Black Lives Matter movement.
The order issued on Sunday afternoon calls for people to be in their homes by 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. every night through Monday, June 8, 2020 at 5 a.m. The order does allow for people to travel to and from religious services; commercial delivery services and trucking to operate; you can obtain food and patronize a private business, care for a family member or animal; escape an emergency situation; or travel to and from work. Violators of the curfew will face misdemeanor charges and up to a $2,500 fine. According to various other news reports and via Twitter, Ducey is quoted, “We’ve learned some lessons over the last three days. First, the more aggressive approach does work.” Further tweets said that he had the Mayors and Police Chiefs across the state “on board.” President Donald Trump complimented Governor Ducey on his actions.
Many Mayors and Police Chiefs opted to announce that they would not be enforcing the curfew order in their communities, Payson, Holbrook, Eager and Springerville were a few that immediately announced they would not be enforcing the order. Officials in Kearny and Superior issued similar statements on their Facebook pages, asking residents and business owners to abide by the Governor’s order and that if groups assembled after 8 p.m. the curfew would be enforced through education. Hayden Police Department announced on Facebook that they would not enforce the curfew. All three communities stated that there were no credible or active threats against the communities. The Town of Mammoth is also following an enforcement by education process.
The unincorporated areas of the Copper Corridor (San Manuel, Oracle, Dudleyville) fall under the jurisdiction of the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office. In a statement on Facebook PCSO did not indicate if they would be actively enforcing the curfew order but did say they are monitoring the situation closely, including social media.
Mayors from the Copper Corridor explained that they were not given any advance knowledge and were not consulted. Media reports and comments on Twitter also indicate that Mayor Regina Romero of Tucson and Mayor Kate Gallego of Phoenix were not contacted prior to the order. The Governor’s announcement said that his order came at the request of local mayors.