Sacramento will be under curfew through weekend. When does it start, and who can go out?

Friday update:

The city’s curfew will remain in place at least through the weekend, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said again Thursday.

However, Steinberg said the hours of the curfew might be modified this weekend to allow for people to go out and dine out, his spokeswoman Mary Lynne Vellinga said.

Either the City Council or City Manager Howard Chan has the ability to lift the curfew.

The American Civil Liberties Union sent the council a letter Thursday afternoon demanding the city lift the curfew within 24 hours.

The city enacted the curfew Monday in response to mass theft and destruction that occurred in downtown and midtown Saturday and Sunday nights after peaceful protests against police brutality had ended. Similar situations played out in cities across the country, prompting officials to quickly enact curfews to try to clear the streets so police could more easily arrest people who were stealing.

But the ACLU says it also gave police more ability to arrest or detain people and use force, exacerbating the very conditions that people have been protesting in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

»» Read More: City Councilman wants Sacramento to lift controversial curfew immediately. Will it happen?

Wednesday update:

The city of Sacramento’s 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew will remain in place through the end of the weekend, Mayor Darrell Steinberg said Wednesday.

“Then we’ll start fresh next week,” he said.

The National Guard will also likely remain in the city for at least the next few days, Steinberg said.

The Sacramento Police Department has so far arrested more than 60 people for curfew violations since the City Council enacted the curfew Monday.

According to the resolution, the curfew will remain in place every night automatically until the city lifts it.

Tuesday update:

The city of Sacramento will impose a historic curfew for a second night, Tuesday, starting at 8 p.m. and ending 5 a.m. Wednesday.

Faced with late-night vandalism Saturday and Sunday, the city passed a resolution on Monday that allows it to institute the curfew on a nightly basis. Mayor Darrell Steinberg said on Tuesday that city officials will determine each day whether to keep the curfew in place. He called the move a temporary urgency measure, and said he hopes to be able to dispense with curfews soon.

See below for answers to questions about the curfew. Get latest news this evening in our live updates story here.

Original story:

For the first time in modern memory, city of Sacramento officials imposed a curfew Monday night in hopes of quelling the late-night violence that shook the city’s central core this weekend.

But what exactly is a curfew? Here are some questions and answers, based on information from city officials and occurrences in other cities, on what appears to be an unprecedented move in California’s capital.

When and where is the curfew?

It takes place throughout the city of Sacramento. See map here. On Tuesday, Sacramento police said the curfew will run 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. nightly until rescinded.

Why is the city imposing a curfew?

Mayor Darrell Steinberg said that keeping law-abiding residents off the streets after dark allows the police to focus on smaller groups of people who might cause problems following peaceful George Floyd protests. In other cities, hundreds of people defied curfew orders though, and clashed with police.

A resolution the council adopted, which also declared a local public emergency, puts it this way: “Conditions of extreme peril caused by mass demonstrations, rioting, and looting, are threatening the safety of persons and property within the City of Sacramento, and local resources are unable to continue to cope with the effects of the emergency.”

Does curfew apply to Sacramento County, Elk Grove, Folsom?

No. County officials are not imposing restrictions, so far, nor has any other city in the county.

On Tuesday, the county declared a state of emergency. The move allows the county to receive deployment of National Guard troops to assist with local law enforcement agencies, if needed, and to tap federal funding for law enforcement efforts related to protests. Read more here.

Can you leave the house?

According to the council resolution, during curfew hours ,”no person shall be upon the public street, avenue, alley, park, or other public place or unimproved public realty within the boundaries of the City of Sacramento.”

That suggests no one is allowed to be outside once the curfew hour hits.

But there are notable exceptions.

Who is allowed outside?

The curfew does not apply to police officers, peace officers, firefighters, or other emergency personnel or civilians engaged in police or emergency work. It also does not apply to the National Guard or any other military personnel deployed to the area.

Another noteworthy exception: Any person going to or from their place of work, including healthcare workers and essential workers; and to authorized representatives of any news service, newspaper, or radio or television station or network.

That means essential services, such as hospitals, are fully open. It also means the news media, which has been out in force covering the protests and riots, can continue to do so.

Businesses must close to the public, but can continue other operations. People leaving unsafe circumstances, including fires, criminal conduct and domestic violence, can go out.

Are restaurants closed?

Yes. The mayor said he expects restaurants within city limits to close in deference to the curfew.

Can you drive your car during the curfew?

The resolution does not address that specifically, but its wording strongly suggests people cannot be driving around unless they are going to an essential task. The wording notably says “no person shall be upon the public street.”

Will public transportation be shut down during curfew?

Regional Transit announced it will shut down service at 8 p.m. for the bus and rail routes that run in and out of downtown.

What are police powers during a curfew?

It remains uncertain what police can and will do tonight and in the following nights. It’s clear the police want the ability to stop anyone they see on the street, regardless of what that person is doing.

The resolution allows them to arrest people for being out after hours.

“The law enforcement forces of this City, along with the law enforcement authorities cooperating with the City, are hereby authorized and charged, to the extent provided by law, with the responsibility of enforcing this curfew and are further authorized to arrest persons that do not obey this curfew after due notice, oral or written, has been given to that person.”

Any violation of this curfew shall be punished as provided in section 2.116.100 of the Sacramento City Code, which states: “It is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not to exceed $500, or by imprisonment not to exceed six months, or both, for any person, during an emergency ...”

The Sacramento County Main Jail is not currently booking inmates for most misdemeanors or lower-level felonies due to a statewide order from the Judicial Council of California to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

If police arrest people for violating the curfew, and the jail does not accept them, they will be released but will still have to answer to the misdemeanor citation, City Attorney Susana Alacala Wood said.

The National Guard will not be enforcing the curfew, Wood said. Only Sacramento police department officers are enforcing the curfew.

National Guard troops will instead guard private and public critical infrastructure that Police Chief Daniel Hahn deems to be most at risk, Steinberg said.

“We want people to comply (with the curfew) and if there’s noncompliance, our police will ask people to go home and there is that ability and that tool to make arrests if necessary,” Steinberg said. “But this is intended to address the nonprotests after dark that are nonprotests because they are just plain criminal acts of destruction and mayhem.”

What about the homeless?

Although they are not included as an exemption in the resolution, Steinberg said the homeless are an exemption to the curfew “for obvious reasons.”

City Manager Howard Chan is issuing a directive to police to advise that encampments will continue to be treated in accordance with the CDC guidelines, Wood said.

Those guidelines say police should not clear homeless encampments during the coronavirus crisis in order to prevent the spread of the virus through the community. Sacramento County has also also issued a public health order that says the same thing.

Has the city established curfews before?

The city of Sacramento imposed an 11 p.m. curfew a decade ago when a group of protesters for services for the poor began camping in front of City Hall. The decision was challenged in court by civil liberties lawyers, but in July 2012 a federal judge sided with the city.

Reporter Dale Kasler contributed to this story.

This story was originally published June 1, 2020 at 4:02 PM.