Sheriff surprises Mayor, says deputies won’t patrol Mardi Gras parades
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Mobile, AL (WALA) — Mobile County Sheriff Sam Cochran said his deputies won’t patrol Mardi Gras parades because of the pandemic.
“What I don’t want to do is contribute to the spread of COVID in someway by supporting something that will spread it and just overwhelm our hospitals,” said Sheriff Cochran.
He caught a lot of people off guard, including Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson, when he said his deputies won’t be a part of the upcoming carnival season.
Sheriff Cochran said, “Maybe I just got ahead of everyone else, but we just shouldn’t have a Mardi Gras with parading societies and people standing in barricades and being shoulder to shoulder and chest to back and hollering and screaming and throwing candy. It just, that just can’t happen. Period! It should be obvious.”
During a typical Mardi Gras, the sheriff said he sends around 60-70 deputies to assist Mobile Police on about six blocks of Government Street.
They also beef up corrections officers at Mobile Metro Jail.
Sheriff Cochran said he wasn’t trying to blind side the mayor or Mobile Police, but someone had to say it.
“Not trying to put nobody in the corner but it seems to me it’s an obvious decision that we all have to make and slowly but surely, the Mardi Gras associations are making the decision on their own but it seems like it’s just a dribble, dribble, dribble. Why’s it got to be a dribble, dribble dribble. It should be obvious.”
Along with some societies already canceling parades, the Medical Society of Mobile County, a panel of local doctors, recently sent Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson and other leaders a letter. It said parades pose the most risk for COVID-19 exposure and should not roll on this year.
When FOX10 News spoke to Mayor Stimpson about that on Tuesday, he wasn’t ready to make a decision.
Thursday night, he sent FOX10 News this statement:
Mayor Stimpson participated in a regularly scheduled meeting with other members of the Mobile County Unified Command this morning.
The members each agreed to wait and see what guidance might be given from the Alabama Department of Public Health and Governor’s office when they revisit the Safer at Home Order on Dec 11th.
There are many organizations across the county that are involved in Mardi Gras. We have all been in close communication as we discuss the risks involved and try to make decisions.
Our team plans to meet in the morning to discuss this new information from MCSO further.”
Sheriff Cochran said MPD could handle the parades without his deputies if the parades do happen.
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