3 Arrested For Curfew Violations In Santee

SANTEE, CA — Three people were arrested Tuesday evening in Santee after refusing to leave the area when a citywide curfew went into effect, authorities said Wednesday morning.

About 200 protesters were at the intersection of Mission Gorge Road and Cuyamaca Street around 7 p.m. Tuesday when deputies in a helicopter announced that the curfew would be enforced and directed people to leave the area, according to Sgt. Ashley Lewis of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

Some protesters left the intersection but a vast majority refused to leave the area, Lewis said. A San Diego sheriff's Mobile Field Force was called to the intersection to disperse the remaining protesters, Lewis said.

Three people were arrested on suspicion of violating curfew. One of the protestors was also charged with delaying and obstructing, sheriff's Lt. Steve Bodine said.

It was unclear whether the people arrested were from a group of residents protecting businesses or from a group protesting police brutality after the death of George Floyd, a black man who died Memorial Day in Minneapolis after being taken into police custody.

"It is unknown which group they associated with, as the arrests were made after deputies began dispersing the groups," Bodine said.

The city on Tuesday extended the curfew for the third consecutive day as protests and riots continued in the county. The curfew order was in effect from 7 p.m. Tuesday until 6 a.m. Wednesday.