The below is an announcement from the City of Auburn.
Mayor Nancy Backus has extended the state of emergency for the city of Auburn through June 6.
As part of the emergency declaration, the City is enacting a curfew between the hours of 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. each evening, ending at 5 a.m. on the morning of Saturday, June 6.
The curfew states no person – with the exception of law enforcement and other emergency response personnel, government officials and authorized media – shall enter or remain in the public right of way, public parks or any other public area within city limits during curfew hours.
Residents are asked to stay home unless in transit to their place of work or in case of emergency.
The proclamation reads in whole:
WHEREAS, in my capacity as Mayor of the City of Auburn, Washington, I proclaimed a civil emergency exists in the City of Auburn in a Proclamation of Civil Emergency dated May 31, 2020; and
WHEREAS, the acts stated in my Proclamation of Civil Emergency still exist as this Order is being issued; and
WHEREAS, it is necessary to use extraordinary measures to protect the public health, safety and welfare; and
WHEREAS, the civil emergency necessitates the utilization of emergency powers granted to the Mayor pursuant to Auburn City Code Chapter 2.75 and RCW Chapter 38.52, including the power to enact a general curfew as set forth in Chapter 2.75 of the Auburn City Code.
WHEREAS, a curfew is necessary to ensure public safety and to protect property.
NOW, THEREFORE, the undersigned Mayor of the City of Auburn, Washington hereby orders:
- A general curfew is imposed within the City of Auburn between the hours of at 9:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. commencing on June 1, 2020, continuing until 5:00 a.m. on June 6, 2020, with the extension beyond the initial 48 hours being subject to confirmation and ratification by the City Council. No person shall enter or remain in the public right-of-way, or in the public parks, or at any other public place within the limits of the City of Auburn between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. during the term of this general curfew, except as provided hereinbelow. The general curfew shall, and shall be enforced by the Auburn Police Department, other law enforcement agencies and the military.
This Order replaces and supersedes the CIVIL EMERGENCY ORDER IMPOSING A CURFEW issues by Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus dated May 31, 2020.
- The general curfew shall not apply to law enforcement personnel who are actively engaging in carrying out their duties; military personnel who are actively engaged in providing assistance to the City pursuant to the Proclamation of the Mayor; emergency personnel and other City and government personnel who are actively engaged in carrying out their duties; City and governmental officials with valid identification; representatives of the media authorized in advance by the Mayor’s Office or the Chief of Auburn Police or designee. For purposes of this Order, the phrase “actively engaged in carrying out their duties” includes traveling to and from the location of those duties to begin or end a work shift.
- Any person found to have knowingly violated this Civil Emergency Order is guilty of a gross misdemeanor for Failure to Obey the Mayor’s Emergency Order, and upon conviction may be punished by a fine or by imprisonment, or both such fine and imprisonment pursuant to Auburn City Code 2.75.070 and 04.040.
- This Civil Emergency Order shall, as amended, be presented to the City Council for ratification and confirmation.
really? “no public place after 9pm? betting the grocery stores and all the businesses that want to go forward really appreciate this restriction arbitrarily imposed. one brief. incident at outlet collection shutdown the City?
This part of the declaration may not be legally enforceable:
‘representatives of the media (must be) authorized in advance by the Mayor’s Office or the Chief of Auburn Police or designee..’
Telling reporters that they must be APPROVED IN ADVANCE by the Mayor’s Office or the Chief of Police?
This is a first, and may supersede the powers actually given to the Mayor. I would not want to be on receiving end of a challenge to this part of the order in a Federal court.
Hi Robert,
As confirmed with the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press, this is not an illegal requirement. It would become illegal should authorization be issued to outlets in a discriminatory fashion (e.g. only print, independent outlets were not authorized, or authorization was not provided in a retaliatory manner).
The Auburn Examiner has received Authorization from the Mayor’s office, with further endorsement from Chief O’Neil.
Elizabeth
The curfew is only working for non looters. Nobody is stopping the looters for fear of backlash. These are not protestors, they are aggressive criminals hiding behind a cause. They should be forcibly arrested and punished. The curfew will not stop the looting. There appears to be no accountability for these looters. The Washington State and Auburn Administrations are protecting their jobs and not protecting the people and small business owners. If this doesn’t stop soon, there will be defensive measures performed by the people to protect themselves and their property. Is this what we should expect from the current political party in this state and city? Maybe it is time for a big change.