California lawmakers pass bill banning law enforcement officers from covering their faces
-
Click here to listen to this article - Share via
See more from the L.A. Times in Google Search. Set us as preferred
The California Legislature this week passed a pair of bills to prohibit on-duty law enforcement officers, including federal immigration agents, from masking their faces and to require them to identify themselves.
Senate Bill 627, written by Sens. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Jesse Arreguín (D-Berkeley), includes exceptions for SWAT teams and others. The measure was introduced after the Trump administration ordered immigration raids throughout the Los Angeles area earlier this year.
Federal officers in army-green neck gaiters or other face coverings have jumped out of vans and cars to detain individuals across California this summer as part of President Trump’s mass deportation program, prompting a wave of criticism from Democratic leaders.
Representatives for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security defend the face coverings, arguing that identifying officers subjects to them to retaliation and violence.
If supported by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the law would apply to local and federal officers, but not state officers such as California Highway Patrol officers. Wiener, when asked by Sen. Kelly Seyarto (R-Murrieta) about that exemption on the Senate floor, declined to elaborate.
Leaders in Los Angeles County are exploring a similar measure to ban masks despite some legal experts’ view that the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution dictates that federal law takes precedence over state law.
The bill’s backers argue that permitting officers to disguise themselves creates scenarios where impostors may stop and detain migrants, undermining public trust and ultimately hindering legitimate law enforcement operations.
“The idea that in California we would have law enforcement officers running around with ski masks is terrifying,” Wiener said in a brief interview. “It destroys confidence in law enforcement.”
Wiener’s bill, passed Thursday, allows exceptions for masks, including for undercover officers. Medical coverings are also allowed.
Senate Bill 805, a measure by Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Alhambra) that targets immigration officers who are in plainclothes but don’t identify themselves, also passed the state Legislature on Thursday.
Her bill requires law enforcement officers in plainclothes to display their agency, as well as either a badge number or name, with some exemptions.
More From the Los Angeles Times
Podcasts
In this episode, we bring you the update on how an Altadena resident and her neighborhood are coming along, plus a re-run of the two-part series we did on the Poppyfields people back in June.
The Hillside Strangler murders terrorized Los Angeles in the late 1970s. The killers were a pair of sadistic cousins. One confessed. The other was set to stand trial—until L.A. prosecutors flinched.
Hosts Fidel Martínez and Suzy Exposito sit down with Lorely Rodriguez –aka Empress Of– indie pop singer, songwriter, and producer, for a conversation about identity, resilience, and her new album Dream House, made while simultaneously rebuilding an actual house in Altadena alongside her mom.
