Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Sends 32 Personnel to Los Angeles

Governor's Office of Emergency Services Asked Sheriff's Office on Sunday to Provide Mutual Aid During Ongoing Protests

The Sheriff's Special Enforcement Team | Credit: Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office

Thirty-two members of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office are in Los Angeles, asked by the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services on Sunday to provide mutual aid during the ongoing protests of federal immigration raids. The personnel from the Sheriff’s Response and Special Enforcement teams arrived in the “early morning hours to provide security to buildings in downtown Los Angeles,” the press release from the Sheriff’s Office said.

“Members of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office are not engaged in immigration enforcement activities in Los Angeles,” said Sheriff Bill Brown, “but rather our role is to assist allied law enforcement agencies and help them ensure the safety and security of their communities in response to these violent disturbances.”

Immigration advocates took to the streets of Los Angeles on Friday when large groups of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal officers were seen caravaning to the Fashion District and to areas where immigrant day laborers were known to look for jobs. At the federal detention center, protesters and federal agents got into heated altercations; attorneys were turned away; among those arrested was the leader of the Service Employees International Union.

The protests grew more volatile when the California National Guard was called out on Saturday by President Donald Trump, over the objections of California Governor Gavin Newsom. Violent clashes between protesters and Los Angeles Police and Sheriff’s officers, as well as California Highway Patrol officers, occurred throughout the weekend, with looting reported late in the day. Protests are being reported as ongoing on Tuesday by Los Angeles media. More than 100 people have been arrested for refusing to disperse.

On Sunday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called for Marines from Camp Pendleton to head for Los Angeles.

Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta filed suit on Monday against the federalizing of the National Guard, arguing “that the use of these troops is illegal, creates imminent harm to state sovereignty, deprives the state of its use of the National Guard, and promotes rather than quells civil unrest,” a press release from Bonta’s office stated.

With the arrival of the Marines, Bonta said, “The President is looking for any pretense to place military forces on American streets to intimidate and quiet those who disagree with him. It’s not just immoral — it’s illegal and dangerous,” the press release says. California has filed for a temporary restraining order to immediately block military and National Guard forces in California communities “beyond federal property.”

Hundreds of National Guard troops from San Diego were sent to Los Angeles on Sunday, Bonta stated, and that a total of 4,000 national guard troops and 700 Marines were part of the Department of Defense deployment in L.A.

Sheriff Brown took exception to the violent protests, saying, “The events unfolding in Los Angeles, other cities in California, and across the nation are far from peaceful First Amendment protests. We are witnessing destructive attacks on private property and targeted attacks on law enforcement officers, both of which are completely unacceptable.” He noted that Santa Barbara and Los Angeles counties have cooperated in the past, as during wildfires, “and we are reciprocating with our support in their time of need.”