Curfew issued for Los Angeles County, additional cities for Wednesday night to curb unrest

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LOS ANGELES - For the fourth night in a row, Los Angeles County issued a curfew order in order to prevent looting and violence that was reported earlier in the week as separate, peaceful protests over the death of George Floyd were held across the county.

The county's curfew will take effect at 9 p.m. Wednesday and continue until 5 a.m. Thursday, officials announced.

"Tonight’s curfew will start later than the curfew in previous nights as the county assesses public safety needs on a daily basis," the county wrote in a press release. "Residents, unless otherwise noted, are asked to stay in their home during the curfew."

The countywide curfew does not apply to peace officers; firefighters; National Guard or other military personnel deployed to the area; emergency medical services personnel; individuals traveling to and from work; individuals working on a public work of improvement construction project; credentialed media representatives involved in newsgathering; people experiencing homelessness and without access to a viable shelter; and individuals seeking medical treatment.

While hundreds of arrests were made earlier this week, a large handful was only because of curfew violations. Still, county officials say they aren't willing to take any chances.

Some cities in the county, including those who were hit hard by looters and arsonists, have chosen to enact earlier curfews.

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Beverly Hills has issued curfews for its business district from 1 p.m. Wednesday to 6 a.m. Thursday and citywide from 4 p.m. Wednesday through 6 a.m. Thursday.

The city of Santa Monica will enact a citywide curfew at 6 p.m., continuing until 6 a.m. Thursday.

Culver City has issued a curfew that will be in effect from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m.

Additional cities and counties are expected to issue their own curfews throughout the day.

On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar announced that Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is increasing charges against now-fired Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin to second-degree murder in the death of George Floyd and also charging the three other officers involved in his death.