CHARLESTON, W.Va. — U.S. Attorney for Southern West Virginia Mike Stuart tweeted Saturday the partial government shutdown has “no effect” on public safety or law enforcement functions.
The shutdown, which went into effect at midnight Friday, is impacting several large federal agencies but not law enforcement, Stuart said.
“The basic law enforcement functions will continue without delay,” Stuart told MetroNews Friday, a few hours before the shutdown. “All law enforcement are going to go on as they need to. The public is incredibly safe.”
Shutdown has NO EFFECT on public safety and law enforcement functions. My office continues to have the back of heroic law enforcement and the public.
— US Attorney Mike Stuart (@USAttyStuart) December 22, 2018
Stuart has had to declare some employees in his office as non-essential. He spent Thursday and Friday going through that process. Stuart said communication will be the key during the length of the shutdown.
“We’re continuing to reach out to our law enforcement partnerships and to make sure that the basic law enforcement functions, dealing with crime, dealing with those civil suits that we deal with all the time, go on without delay,” Stuart said. “Nothing, nothing in terms of public safety will be compromised.”
Stuart’s office put out a Public Service Announcement this weekend in connection with the opioid crisis. The message remembers the state’s overdose victims and urges residents to call 844-Help-4-WV if they or someone they knows needs help.
— US Attorney Mike Stuart (@USAttyStuart) December 21, 2018