Sheriff’s Office backs away from anti-riot law, worried that people’s civil rights could be violated.

The rules for policing felonies is clear, Schwartzreich said: If law enforcement sees a law being violated, they must act. Discretion may be used with misdemeanors. That edict and the new law put deputies in a situation where they’re “damned if they do, damned if they don’t,” Schwartzreich said.