Los Angeles County Sheriff speaks out against mask mandates

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (KERO) — The Los Angeles County Sheriff has said that he won't be enforcing the mask mandate that took effect on Saturday night.

Sheriff Alex Villanueva says he believes that the mask mandate isn't backed by science and instead they are asking residents for voluntary compliance.

"We're going to rely on voluntary compliance of each business owner. Ultimately it's backfiring on us, because we're creating more resentment, more anger and more mistrust. The county DPH did not consult with law enforcement, the board of supervisors. They did this all on their own without considering the consequences and our ability to enforce it."

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials have said that they agree with county health departments making their own mandates in order to deal with an increase in coronavirus cases.