Jefferson Co. commission orders curfew; Sheriff's Office says they weren't told

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ala. (WBMA) — UPDATE 8:50 p.m. - ABC 33/40 spoke with Commissioner Jimmie Stephens who said the Commission relied on the attorney to deliver the instructions. There was a miscommunication however Commissioner Stephens spoke with the Sheriff's Office and the issue has been resolved. The Jefferson County Sheriff's office said they will enforce the curfew.

------

UPDATE 7:27 p.m. - Deputy Chief David Agee with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office says in a statement to ABC 33/40:

"There has been no official communication with the County Commission on the matter of a curfew. We were alerted by the media. We should have been involved in the development of anything that has to be enforced by law enforcement. We have to be clear on what we are being asked to do."

Additionally, Agee said Jefferson County Sheriff's deputies will not enforce the curfew until it receives official information from the commission.

------

The Jefferson County Commission voted to implement a curfew for unincorporated areas.

The curfew will be in effect from 7:00 P.M. to 6:00 A.M. each night, beginning June 2, 2020 and going through June 9, 2020.

On Monday, several cities within the county approved their own curfews after a protest in Birmingham turned violent and destructive Sunday night.

The details in the curfew, listed by the commission, are as follows:

While the curfew is in effect no person shall:

• Hold or participate in any demonstration, parade, march, or vigil on any of the public ways or upon any public property.
• Travel on any public street, alley or roadway or on any other public property, except those: In search of medical assistance, religious services, food, or other commodity or service necessary to sustain the well-being of themselves or their families; To travel through the County to another location, or returning to one’s residence or place of employment, or legally mandated government purposes, or an order of law enforcement or a court; Or those attending school related events or activities.
• These restrictions do not apply to employees of utilities, cable and telecommunications companies and their contractors engaged in activities necessary to maintain or restore utilities, official emergency management personnel, or any other class of persons deemed essential to the preservation of public order and immediately necessary to serve the safety, health and welfare needs to the citizens of Jefferson County including: o Law enforcement officers o Firefighters o Public employees o Doctors and nurses and employees of hospitals or other medical facilities o Persons providing legal services or are a part of the judicial system o On duty military personnel whether state or federal o Public transportation companies o Newspaper, magazine, radio broadcasting and television corporations.

The curfew will be enforced by Jefferson County Sheriff’s Deputies in unincorporated parts of the County and municipalities within the County will have the authority to enforce the curfew with their law enforcement agency. Any person violating this resolution, on conviction, can be fined $500, and/or imprisoned, or sentenced to hard labor for the county for no more than six-months.