Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea made the following statement on the Butte County Sheriff Facebook page:

“On November 19, 2020, California's Public Health Officer, Erica S. Pan, MD, MPH, issued a ‘Limited Stay at Home Order,’ which takes effect at 10:00 PM on Saturday, November 21 and will remain in effect until 5:00 AM on December 21. In general terms, the order provides that ‘non-essential’ work, movement and gatherings are prohibited between 10:00 PM and 5:00 AM, in counties within the purple tier.

There has been a considerable amount of concern regarding the restrictions imposed by the order, including whether law enforcement will be checking on homes or stopping drivers to ensure compliance.

In these challenging times, there is a great deal of fear, anxiety and uncertainty within the community. I do not wish to compound those concerns by creating distrust and friction between residents and law enforcement.

As both Sheriff and a citizen of Butte County, the thought of law enforcement officers peeking into the windows of homes, or stopping and questioning residents regarding their destination and family relationships, merely for being outside of their homes, or visiting the home of another during the nighttime hours, all solely due to the suspicion of violating the ‘Limited Stay at Home Order,’ is very troubling.

As peace officers, we must always weigh the risks and benefits of enforcement action based on many factors. This is especially true given the evolving role of law enforcement in our society, along with a criminal justice system already strained by COVID-19 complications. I am concerned the negative impact on public trust, the high likelihood of escalation and the strain upon our limited law enforcement resources would far outweigh any benefit of enforcing such an order.

Due to the potential infringement upon constitutionally protected activities, along with the lack of feasibility and practicality of enforcing such an order, I am directing my staff to not use a suspected violation of the newly-enacted ‘Limited Stay at Home Order’ as the basis for arrest, citation, detention or stop.

With that stated, I want to implore the members of our community to take personal responsibility for their health and well-being and do all they can to help protect the health and well-being of other members of our community. I want to stress the importance of voluntary compliance with common-sense measures, such as social distancing, the use of face-coverings where appropriate, proper sanitation, staying at home when sick and other recommendations as part of a social contract between individuals, community groups, businesses and public health officials, which is critical in stemming the spread of COVID-19.”

Kory L. Honea,

Sheriff-Coroner

Butte County Sheriff’s Office