A Democratic sheriff in Michigan said his officers would not penalize residents and business owners for violating Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s lockdown order but walked back his statements soon after.
Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson was the latest local law enforcement head to buck Whitmer’s mandate, saying he was not “writing tickets” for lockdown violations. A day later, though, he offered a confusing explanation of his stance while walking back his commitment not to enforce the governor’s heavy-handed actions.
Swanson appeared on “No Bullshit Hour,” a popular Michigan radio show, on Friday and told host Charlie LeDuff that the sheriff’s office has not and does not plan to enforce Whitmer’s coronavirus lockdown orders.
“You know people have to talk about the Constitution in its entirety, and that’s the separation of powers, and the sheriff is the executive branch of that separation. We enforce laws with discretion,” Swanson began. He added that the courts should decide whether a law is constitutional or not.
Swanson continued:
“It is dangerous for police officers to determine what’s right and what’s wrong. Otherwise I could look at Lafayette [Boulevard in Detroit] and say, ‘You know, by the order of the sheriff, I don’t agree with the speed limit. Go as fast as you want.’ I can’t do that. But what I can do is say, ‘I’m not going to park cars there and pull over everybody that’s going one [mph] over.’ I tell this to my people in Genesee County, because I have seen people and I have seen people on the nursing side, we’re going to talk about that; the business side, they’re dying. We have not raided a business. We have not shut a business down. We’re not pulling people over. We’re not writing tickets, and don’t expect us to do it.”
On Saturday, Swanson released a video on the sheriff department’s Facebook page expressing support for Whitmer’s lockdown, but muddying his stance on whether he intends to enforce the lockdown orders or not.
“Make no mistake, I applaud the governor and the governor’s office for the executive orders that they’ve done to protect the health and safety of this community and across the state,” Swanson said. “But there is a little bit more that creates conversation and that is what is this sheriff’s office doing for people that still have some questions. Well, let me assure you this: nobody want’s anybody arrested, be hauled to jail, to be criminalized … Even the governor doesn’t want that.”
Swanson said that he is asking for “voluntary compliance” with Whitmer’s orders and that he does not plan on arresting people or raiding businesses “as long as you do your part and I do my part.”
“Be very cautious not to put other people’s public health at risk. Use good sound judgement; we want compliance, not defiance,” Swanson continued. “I can tell you if you put other people’s public safety at risk that’s no different than victimizing them in a crime.”
Swanson did not respond to repeated requests for clarification.
Whitmer is increasingly struggling to keep Michiganders and law enforcement officers abiding by her executive orders. She has extended her state’s lockdown to at least May 28, and has signaled that she will extend it further depending on how the state’s coronavirus pandemic develops. Michigan’s daily reported cases have been declining since early April.
Her authority to keep her state in lockdown is slowly slipping away as more residents, businesses, law enforcement, and judges refuse to implement her strict orders. In the town of Owosso, a barber opened his shop May 4 and stayed open nearly two weeks despite receiving two citations. A local judge denied a request for a restraining order against the barber from Michigan’s attorney general, and the sheriff overseeing Owosso has declared that he will not enforce the state’s lockdown order.
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