Valley law enforcement assist around California with recent protests

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- As thousands of protesters filled the streets of Downtown San Francisco, Merced County deputies stood guard in front of large department stores on Union and Market Streets.

"We assisted San Francisco Police number with number one, securing the businesses that had been looted the night prior and also making sure peace was a constant," says George Sziraki.

Tuesday, the San Francisco Police Department thanked the officers from cities like Dos Palos, Livingston and Los Banos for their help, mostly monitoring crowds and deterring further violence.

On Monday, both Kings and Fresno County Deputies were called out to the Bay Area.

Deputies from Kings County patrolled Oakland on horseback, and Mariposa County deputies watched over businesses in San Francisco. Some had already been trashed and were emptied.

Twenty deputies left Fresno Monday and by the afternoon, they were patrolling and into the night.

A curfew in effect and abundance of law enforcement made for a quiet night. Fresno County Sheriff's Lieutenant John Reynolds said he's been told the next 48 hours should be busy.

"Our duty will be to protect those shopping centers they believe could be targeted and the information that we have today is there's a lot of movement with crowds, so they're looking to deploy us as soon as possible," he said.

Commander David Dodd of the Kings County Sheriff's Department was among the first to be deployed south to Los Angeles.

When his team of 21 pulled into the command post last Saturday night, the scene seemed more like out of a Hollywood movie.

"You could still smell the strong odor of smoke and also chemical agents in the air," he said. "There was active shots being fired by tear gas canisters by the people that were conducting riot control."

Commander Dodd took a video of a law enforcement helicopter monitoring the chaotic scene from above.

The Office of Emergency Services organized officers from around the state to respond after some protests became riots and required more police response.

Fresno County deputies were deployed for three days. They will be assisting San Francisco officers until Wednesday.