By a bit after midnight on Wednesday morning, no sheriff’s deputies had arrived at the Monroe County courthouse lawn to enforce a local ordinance on hours of use for the grounds. [Updated at 2:24 a.m. on June 10, 2020: Sheriff’s deputies arrived around 12:30 a.m. Details appended below.]

For the last dozen nights in a row, the courthouse lawn, at the corner of Walnut Street and Kirkwood Avenue, has been the scene of protests against against police brutality and for the defunding of law enforcement.

Based on statements from the Monroe County legal department—made earlier in the day and at the county council’s Tuesday meeting—the expectation was that on Tuesday night, the hours of operation for the courthouse grounds would be enforced by sheriff’s deputies.

According to the ordinance, the grounds are open to the public only from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. But the 10 o’clock hour came and went on Tuesday night without any intervention by law enforcement. Continue reading “Midnight update: No courthouse grounds curfew enforcement; town hall on law enforcement funding set for June 30” →