San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said the biggest benefit of the event was information. "(We're going to discuss) what’s currently going on in terms of the state legislature, what’s going on with the profession of law enforcement, and what our plans are and how we keep people protected," Dicus said.
For the event, the sheriffs sat down to answer questions submitted by the public, the first of which was discussing the state’s COVID-19 response. “As you all know, I never did enforce any of those orders, and I certainly would not start," said Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.
Throughout the pandemic, Bianco has been a vocal opponent of mandates implemented by the state. He said law enforcement and fire departments should have been more involved in the decision-making.“They made up (the rules) behind closed doors, people that you did not see, while they put us up forefront trying to blame us for either causing the pandemic because we wouldn’t arrest you or making it draw on and on, because we wouldn’t lock you into your houses and everything else to make it go away," Bianco said.
Also discussed were concealed weapon permits, which are distributed by the county sheriffs. “So concealed carry permits are important, they’re important not just because of the Second Amendment but right now in the state of California, we’re all dealing with the revolving door of criminal justice, they’re critically important to public safety," said Sheriff Shannon Dicus.
Other topics discussed included human trafficking and illegal marijuana farms. CLICK HERE to watch the entire two-hour Tri-County Sheriff's Forum.
