Two California lawmakers introduced a measure Monday that seeks to ban law enforcement at all levels of government from covering their faces during operations including immigration enforcement.
The legislation would also require officers “to be identifiable via their uniform, whether with name or other identifier,” according to Democratic Sens. Scott Wiener of San Francisco and Jesse Arreguin of Berkeley, who introduced Senate Bill 627, also known as the “No Secret Police Act.”
The bill would prohibit local, state and federal law enforcement officers, or any person acting on behalf of a law enforcement agency from covering their faces. The measure includes exceptions for SWAT teams, medical-grade masks such as surgical or N95 masks, and masks designed to protect against smoke during a wildfire-related state of emergency.
Wiener said the legislation was prompted by the Trump administration’s recent immigration crackdown and reports of federal agents wearing masks and allegedly not identifying themselves during operations.
“People are afraid, families are being torn apart,” the senator said at a news conference in San Francisco on Monday. “And it’s important that anyone who is engaged in law enforcement activity whether state, county or whether its federal that there’s full transparency in terms of what happening.”
The lawmakers said they believed the measure would improve public trust in law enforcement.
“This law is rooted in two principles. One, to protect the safety of California’s communities. And two, to ensure that there is transparency and accountability for law enforcement,” Arreguin said.
In an interview with Margaret Brennan of “Face the Nation” on June 8, Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem has defended law enforcement covering their faces.
“It’s for the safety of those individuals or the work that they’re doing as far as protecting their identity so they can continue to do investigative work,” Noem said.
