Can a mayor or county sheriff request National Guard assistance locally?

1. Local request pathways: sheriff, mayor, emergency manager

State laws and federal emergency doctrine make clear that local civil authorities—mayors, county sheriffs, police chiefs, or emergency managers—are typical initiators of requests for Guard assistance: statutes in states such as Arizona require the local officer to communicate needs to the state emergency director for transmittal to the governor ^[1], and federal guidance for Defense Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA) notes a Request for Assistance generally originates with a civil authority such as a mayor or sheriff ^[4].

2. The governor’s gatekeeping role

Even when a local official asks, activation of a state National Guard typically requires the governor’s approval and orders; governors can mobilize the Guard for state service and also retain the authority to refuse requests for assistance, a control affirmed in legal analyses and statute interpretations ^{[1] [2] [5]}.

3. Federal versus state status matters — Title 32, Title 10, and Posse Comitatus

Who controls Guard forces—and what they may legally do—hinges on whether units are on state duty (often Title 32) or federal active duty (Title 10); Posse Comitatus restrictions on federal troops do not apply to Guard under state control, but different rules and sensitivities attach when Guard units are federalized or used under federal statutes ^{[5] [6]}.

4. Special rules for Washington, D.C.

The District of Columbia is an outlier: the DC National Guard answers to the President (delegated to the Secretary of the Army) rather than the DC mayor, so D.C.’s mayor must request federal action—statutes and executive orders create a bifurcated command that differs from state governors’ control ^{[7] [3] [8]}.

5. Mutual aid and interstate deployments

When a local jurisdiction seeks Guard assistance beyond its own state—such as requesting units from other states—the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) and federal coordination channels allow interstate deployments, but those requests still flow through governor-to-governor or EMAC processes rather than a unilateral mayoral order to out‑of‑state Guardsmen ^{[3] [4]}.

6. Legal and political limits; courts can intervene

Courts have stepped in where statutory authorization or required local requests were lacking; a recent Tennessee injunction against a deployment highlighted that absence of a lawful local request and lack of a qualifying emergency can block Guard use, underscoring judicial review as a backstop ^[9]. Analysts warn federal statutory provisions that permit presidential requests are not a “blank check,” because governors can decline and legal constraints persist ^[2].

7. How this looks in practice

Governors routinely coordinate with local police and sheriffs and sometimes pre-position Guard forces for potential unrest or disasters—recent state-level preparations and communications with local law enforcement illustrate how the request/approval channel works operationally ^{[10] [4]}. When federal authorities seek Guard support (for example, to assist a federal agency), statutory mechanics such as 32 U.S.C. §502 and related provisions shape who issues orders and who can veto deployments ^{[2] [6]}.

Conclusion: short answer, with caveats

Yes—mayors and county sheriffs can request National Guard assistance, and such requests are the normal trigger for Guard support under state law and federal DSCA practice, but the governor (or in D.C. the federal executive) generally controls whether and how Guard forces are mobilized, interstate deployments follow EMAC or federal channels, and legal limits (including Posse Comitatus implications when forces are federalized) and recent court rulings can constrain or block deployments ^{[1] [4] [2] [9] [3]}.