> The mayor ordered the police to arrest Petersen. In most (I'd venture the very very vast majority) of cities, the Mayor is not in the PD chain of command. In

> The mayor ordered the police to arrest Petersen. In most (I'd venture the very very vast majority) of cities, the Mayor is not in the PD chain of command. In fact, generally, the Mayor is a largely ceremonial and strategic role, and if anything, I'd expect the City Operations Manager to be the one. In fact, here (Washington state), during a lot of the BLM protests and the "take a knee" stance, there was coverage of our Mayor asking the Sheriff to take a knee with her during a protest. He refused. The Mayor also asked the Sheriff (who is considered the senior LEO in the county, for all agencies other than state/federal) to withdraw officers into the City offices as a show of de-escalation, etc. He also declined. Apropos of anything else, I can't see how that would be a valid order, anyway. It doesn't free anyone from the need for probable cause, for a start. "Officer, what was your cause for arresting this man?" "Well, the mayor ordered me to."