Sonoma County sheriff reverses course, will enforce local coronavirus public health order, board chairwoman says

Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Susan Gorin on Friday said Sheriff Mark Essick is reversing his stance against enforcing the stay-at-home rules issued by the county’s health officer in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Gorin said Essick made that commitment during a tense but productive call convened Friday morning with federal, state and local officials. Also on the call were Sonoma County’s two congressmen, Reps. Mike Thompson and Jared Huffman, state Sen. Mike McGuire, Health Officer Dr. Sundari Mase and Barbie Robinson, director of the county’s health department.

Essick couldn’t immediately be reached Friday morning. A 26-year Sheriff’s Office veteran, Essick is in the second year of his first term leading the county’s largest law enforcement agency.

Gorin said she received “a commitment from the Sheriff’s Office to enforce the public health officer orders to the best of their ability.”

The reported about-face comes about 20 hours after Essick made a sudden and unexpected announcement Thursday that he would instruct his deputies to stop enforcing the local health order, stating his concerns that the order contained more strict provisions than those laid down by the state.

Essick said he believed the Sheriff’s Office and the public at large had not received sufficient communication or transparency from the health department about the impact of the virus in local communities. From the start of the outbreak in March, the health department has taken a strong stance against disclosing detailed information about individual cases and outbreaks but has since began releasing more data on local transmission.

Just last week, the county published demographic data showing the virus was disproportionately affecting Latino residents, who represent 27% of the population but a startling 70% of reported cases of COVID-19.

Essick’s announcement came one day after county supervisors roundly gave public support for Mase’s decision this week to pause the county’s reopening for up to 14 days after reporting several alarming trends: a recent rise in local COVID-19 cases, increased person-to-person transmission of the contagion and a spike in hospitalizations, which she characterized as “red flags.”

But Essick criticized Mase and the health department for withholding key information that might help the public understand the current status of the virus here, such as how many of the active cases represent seriously sick people, the number of current hospitalizations and patients requiring ventilators. The health department has repeatedly declined to reveal that data, citing patient privacy rules.

Gorin said the health department agreed to provide regular briefings with the Sheriff’s Office.

“I’m disappointed,” Gorin said of the Essick’s surprise announcement Thursday, which caught supervisors and fellow law enforcement officials off guard. None came forward to support the sheriff’s move, which instead was roundly rebuked by local leaders.

“I’m focusing on moving forward,” Gorin said. “The Sheriff’s Office has renewed its commitment to enforcing the local health order.”

This is a breaking story. Check back for updates.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 707-521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.