Orange County Sheriff’s Department Spent $5 Million on Overtime Policing Protests and Riots

Orange County Sheriff deputies intervene to keep protesters and counter protesters from each other, in Yorba Linda, Calif., Sept. 26, 2020. Mindy Schauer/The Orange County Register via AP

IRVINE, Calif.—Riots and political unrest left the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) with a nearly $5 million overtime tab in 2020, The Epoch Times has learned.

Data obtained through a public records request shows that overtime pay for policing the political gatherings last year was $4,929,447, a notable increase from other years, due to a high amount of civil unrest.