Policy Text
Court Security Division P age 1 of 7 5/04 (REV 6/11)
Critical Incidents: Civil Dis turbances/Protests/Mass Arrests
The purpose of this Operations Or der is to outline procedures t o follow for civil
disturbances, protests, and inci dents requiring mass arrests at any Sacramento County
Superior Court facility. I. Policy
A. Court Security officers shall respond to civil disobedience incidents
occurring inside court facilities and outside near court entran ces in a
manner that will protect:
1. The safety and security of t he facility and its occupants.
2. The Constitutional rights of the demonstrators engaged in th e civil
disobedience.
II. Authority
A. Congress shall make no law abr idging the right of the people to peaceably
assemble.
1. U.S. Constitution, First Amendment
B. Every person who, without aut hority willfully disturbs or br eaks up any
lawful assembly is guilty of a misdemeanor.
1. California P enal Code §403
C. Every person with the inten t to cause a riot does an act or urges others to
commit acts of force or violence is guilty of incitement to rio t.
1. California Pena l Code §404.6(a)
D. The taking by means of a riot o f any person from the lawful custody of a
peace officer is a lynching.
1. California P enal Code §405a
E. Whenever two or more persons a ssemble together to do an unla wful act,
or do a lawful act in a viol ent, boisterous, or tumultuous mann er, such
assembly is an unlawful assembly.
Court Security Division P age 2 of 7 5/04 (REV 6/11) 1. California P enal Code §407
F. Every person remaining pres ent at the place of any riot, rou t, or unlawful
assembly, after the same has been lawfully warned to disperse i s guilty of
a misdemeanor.
1. California P enal Code §409
G. An officer, having notice o f an unlawful or riotous assembly neglects to
proceed to the place of assembly for suppressing the same and a rresting
the offenders is gu ilty of a misdemeanor.
1. California P enal Code §410
H. Any person who intentionally interferes with any lawful bus iness carried
on by the owner of a business es tablishment open to the public, by
obstructing or intimidating thos e attempting to carry on busine ss and who
refuses to leave the premises w hen so ordered by a peace office r is guilty
of a misdemeanor.
1. California Pena l Code §602.1(a)
I. Every person who willfully and maliciously obstructs the fre e movement of
any person on any street, sidewal k, or other public place is gu ilty of a
misdemeanor.
1. California P enal Code §647c
J. Where any number of persons are unlawfully assembled, the sh eriff must
go among the persons assembled, o r as near to them as possible, and
command them, in the name of the people of the state, immediate ly to
disperse.
1. California P enal Code §726
K. If the persons assembled do no t immediately disperse officer s must arrest
them.
1. California P enal Code §727
L. Loitering for the purpose of c reating a disturbance of the p eace or to
obstruct the free passage of pedestrians or vehicles is an infr action.
1. Sacramento C ounty Code §9.82.020
III. Incident Type
A. Planned Incident
1. Usually gives sufficient lead time for gathering intelligenc e, planning
and organizing a response.
Court Security Division P age 3 of 7 5/04 (REV 6/11) B. Spontaneous Incident
1. Develops without prior notic e. Requires a rapid organizatio nal
response to isolate and contain.
IV. Incident Levels
A. Level I Incident
1. A group of people assembled fo r a common cause, but overall offer
no threat of violence or resistance to arrest.
B. Level II Incident
1. An assemblage of persons r epresenting two opposing points of
view gathered at the same locat ion with a potent ial for violenc e.
C. Level III Incident
1. An assemblage of persons exp ected to behave in a violent man ner.
Likely to become disorderly and result in physical confrontatio n and
aggressive resistance to officers.
V. Response
A. Level I Incident
1. If the event is spontaneous, the Facility Sergeant shall not ify the
Assistant Commander and/or the Satellite Facility Commander.
a. If warranted, the affect ed Commander shall begin the
“Notification Requirement ” per General Order 7/04.
2. Determine the number of parti cipants or expected number of
participants.
3. Determine the location of t he demonstration or expected loca tion of
the demonstration.
a. Determine dispersal route(s) for demonstrators in case the
event gets out of hand.
4. Establish a small In cident Command System.
a. Command Post Location
(1) May be located in C ourt Control or in the
administrative offices.
b. Incident Commander
Court Security Division P age 4 of 7 5/04 (REV 6/11) (1) Assistant Commander, Satellite Facility Commander,
or Facility