The 10 p.m. curfew that has been in effect since Tuesday will continue this evening, an East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman confirms, adding there is “no set timeline” on when it will expire and whether it ends “all depends on conditions.”
The uncertainty over when the curfew will be lifted is among the chief concerns many Baton Rouge business owners have as the weekend approaches.
“We’ll lose 30 to 50 percent of our business if this thing continues into the weekend,” says Neal Hendrick, owner of Zippy’s in the Perkins Road overpass neighborhood, who adds business has been off about 30% the past few nights due to the curfew. “We’re already having to close early and turn away business. They’re killing us with this.”
Hendrick and a number of other business owners who Daily Report reached today—primarily those who own bars and restaurants—are questioning the necessity of the curfew. So, too, do Mayor Kip Holden and Metro Councilman John Delgado, who owns three downtown bars.
“Oh no,” says Holden about whether he feels the curfew is needed tonight. “It wasn’t even necessary last night.”
EBR Sheriff Sid Gautreaux—who requested approval to enforce the curfew from Gov. John Bel Edwards after Holden did not impose one himself—maintains the curfew is needed to ensure public safety and stem any looting that might take place in the parish. Though Gautreaux did not return a call seeking comment, EBRSO spokeswoman Casey Rayborn Hicks issued a statement from the sheriff that says, “This curfew will not be long term. I will remove it when it is safe to do so.”
Chad Hughes, co-owner of Ivar’s Sports Bar & Grill near the Perkins Road overpass, says the lack of clarity about the curfew is nearly as frustrating as the curfew itself.
“I’ve gotten 10 phone calls from other business owners today asking me about it, and I had 20 yesterday,” says Hughes. “They want to know if it’s really being enforced, what the penalty is if you’re out after curfew and whether people can be out after 10 p.m. as long as they’re heading home from work. They’ve done a terrible job of communicating the specifics on this.”
Hicks provided some clarity this afternoon, though it appears it will be up to individual law enforcement officers to determine whether or not someone has a “legitimate” reason to be out after curfew.
“People traveling to and from work will not have issues,” Hicks says in an email to Daily Report. “The curfew gives law enforcement probable cause to stop and question someone out after curfew to determine if they have a legitimate reason to be there. Those traveling to and from work, delivering food, fuel, etc. will not have issues. Those that do not have a good reason to be out are subject to arrest.”
About 14 people were reportedly arrested earlier this week for looting. Delgado says the curfew may make sense in areas where power is out or roads are still impassable, but he sees no need for it in areas of Baton Rouge that were not affected by flooding, such as Perkins Rowe, the Perkins Road overpass and downtown.
“Ninety percent of the parish has power and 90 percent of the roads are passable, so to lock down everyone in the parish just doesn’t make any sense to me,” says Delgado, who sent Gautreaux a letter asking him to lift the curfew. Delgado says he has not gotten a direct response.
What all of the business owners reiterate is that the curfew is mostly hurting their employees, many of whom have been impacted by flooding and are wanting to return to work to begin making some money again.
“It’s not a selfish thing,” says Hughes. “As a business we’ll be fine, but I have employees with bills to pay. I have employees whose homes have been flooded and whose family members’ homes have been flooded. This is their livelihood. They’re begging for shifts.”
—Steve Sanoski
