SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Local, state, and federal law enforcement officers who cover their faces while conducting official business could face a misdemeanor charge in California under a new proposal announced Monday.
The bill would require all law enforcement officials show their faces and be identifiable by their uniform, which should carry their name or other identifier. It would not apply to the National Guard or other troops and it exempts SWAT teams and officers responding to natural disasters.
State Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat representing San Francisco, and State Sen. Jesse Arreguin, a Democrat representing Berkeley and Oakland, said the proposal seeks to boost transparency and public trust in law enforcement. It also looks to protect against people trying to impersonate law enforcement, they said.
“We are seeing more and more law enforcement officers, particularly at the federal level, covering their faces entirely, not identifying themselves at all and, at times, even wearing army fatigues where we can’t tell if these are law enforcement officers or a vigilante militia,” Wiener said.
“They are grabbing people off our streets and disappearing people, and it’s terrifying,” he added.
Related Articles
Trump fires Democratic commissioner of independent agency that oversees nuclear safety
Anti-domestic violence groups are suing over the Trump administration’s grant requirements
Judge extends order suspending Trump’s block on Harvard’s incoming foreign students
Trump muses about turning the G7 back into the G8 — or even the G9 with China
Coming to America? In 2025, the US to some looks less like a dream and more like a place to avoid
In Los Angeles, a series of immigration raids June 6 by federal officers, some with face coverings, triggered days of turbulent protests across the city and beyond and led President Donald Trump to deploy National Guard troops and Marines to the LA area. More than 100 people were detained during those raids and immigrant advocates say they have not been able to contact them.
The state senators said that in recent months, federal officers have conducted raids while covering their faces, and at times their badges and names, in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Concord, Downey and Montebello.
“Law enforcement officers are public servants and people should be able to see their faces, see who they are, know who they are. Otherwise, there is no transparency and no accountability,” Wiener said.
Videos of raids showing masked officers using unmarked vehicles and grabbing people off the streets have circulated on social media in recent weeks.
Leave a Reply