Deputies to 12-Hour Shifts, SM Stores Being Boarded Up, Before Election – No Problems Anticipated in Malibu
Written by 991KBU on October 28, 2020
Stores are being boarded up … in case of election-related violence … in Santa Monica and Beverly Hills.
In Malibu … sheriff’s Captain Chuck Becerra says … and we quote … “We do not anticipate any protests or problems in our area on Election Day.”
But Becerra says … out of an abundance of caution… all LA County sheriff’s deputies countywide will be “all hands on deck” for 12 hour days, every day before, during, and following the elections.
Becerra says the long hours are challenging times for deputies.
The Santa Monica Police Department is preparing for potential civil unrest leading up to next Tuesday’s presidential election and its aftermath.
The Santa Monica Lookout newspaper reports that the police there will boost the presence starting Friday.
Businesses are asking Santa Monica police about boarding up their storefronts.
The Department supports businesses that choose to board up, police said.
“As a Police Department, we cannot tell business what to do when it comes to boarding up,” a department spokesman told the Outlook newspaper.
“However, we understand the need to feel secure and we respect your decisions on how to handle your day to day operations.”
In Beverly Hills … Rodeo Drive will be closed to cars and pedestrian traffic on election day and the day after.
The police chief tells the LA Times it’s a “proactive approach” to possible protests.
People in Santa Monica are edgy.
Businesses in downtown Beverly Hills are being urged to board up.
220 businesses were damaged last May … and 76 were looted on May 31st.
That’s the day that looters arrived en masse in downtown Santa Monica … while police were distracted with a peaceful civil rights march.
Police tell the newspaper they currently have no intelligence to indicate Santa Monica will be a place of unrest.
Same in Malibu.
Becerra says support from the community during previous 12 hour day schedules … and the many issues that we’ve been hit with since March … is appreciated.
