In response to immigration raids by masked federal officers in Los Angeles and across the nation, two California lawmakers on Monday proposed a new state law to ban members of law enforcement from concealing their faces while on the job.
The bill would make it a misdemeanor for local, state and federal law enforcement officers to cover their faces with some exceptions, and also encourage them to wear a form of identification on their uniform.
“We’re really at risk of having, effectively, secret police in this country,” said state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), co-author of the bill.
Encourage them to wear identification? ENCOURAGE them?!? How that is not and has not always been mandatory is beyond me.
Id would be trivial to fake. So either way it wouldn’t solve much without a hefty penalty for using a fake one.
Its already a hefty fine/jail time for impersonating a member of the law
I meant like ICE agents bringing fake ID so it had someone elses name on it and stuff. That wouldn’t be impersonating law enforcement since they technically are.
It’s a state legislature attempting to regulate a federal agency. Even if it manages to make it to the Governor’s desk, you know Newsom will veto it, because he’s a cowardly little toad man who has never found a boat he was above licking. And if, by some miracle it survives the legislature and Newsom discovers his spine, the federal courts will bat this away overnight.
All that is assuming Silicon Valley doesn’t have enough votes in the state house to smoother this proposal in committee.
Why even worry about the language of a DOA bill? You’re not stopping ICE from Sacramento. Not with the current crop of liberal dorks and techbro shills running things.
I mean, the president did threaten him, so maybe he’ll grow a spine for his own safety.
The mask part does not say encourage so I don’t see why the id part would be different.
Wearing masks isn’t the issue, it’s the lack of warrants and identification.
A face can be seen, recognized and recorded from a distance. Video doesn’t usually do any good with badges and other identification but cops and criminals both - or one and the same - risk being identified if they don’t have masks.
Yep. There’s a non-zero chance that maga civilians are dressing tactical and kidnapping people they believe shouldn’t be here. I hope not, but there’s really no way to know either way at this point.
I think it should be assumed, just because.
In theory, anyone could forge a badge, claim to be ice, and literally kidnap people into sex trafficking or slavery and we wouldnt find out for quite a long time. That’s in addition to the already dangerous prospect of having unidentifiable police who are unaccountable.
There should be passed ASAP. Should become a national law too but not gonna happen with this government. We need to pass this on a local and state level as much as possible.
Also many people may not necessarily know how a real ICE badge looks like. And fake badges are available for collectors and cosplayers alike. Also most people will not fully check or examine a badge or insignia, meaning by the time they realize it is fake it will be too late.
Isn’t this already happening?
mmmm People whom are know to hang out on an island full of under age sex trafficed girls, are now in power of the government. Oh of course it is happening, But its no longer limited to the island, and its government approved.
I don’t understand how it’s even legal right now.
Why would they need exceptions?
Only really practical exception I can think of is when responding to fires or hazardous chemical releases (not caused by them just chucking teargas all over the place) or when working in hospitals or other indoor locations where there is an extremely high likelihood of encountering someone who is immunocompromised since they probably aren’t up to date on their shots.
In these situations, other forms of identification should be incredibly prominently visible.
Edit for the latter since I know I’m gonna get “whatabouts”: officer should be performing roles that necessitate their presence and are providing safety against clear and present threats, e.g., protection details, wellness checks, or collecting evidence. Not deporting children with leukemia or some such vile fuckery.
I’m required to wear a photo id visible at all times while I’m at work as a cable lineman. Wear all the silly hats you want, long as your badge/Id visible and presented when asked.
Wild these papers please people can’t figure it out for themselves.
Where I live cops wear strips on their vest with their station, and name badges with their officer number and name.
It has a carve-out for medical masks, so get ready for ICE to abuse the shit out of that if it passes.
This should also include identification on vehicles.
None of this unmarked pickup truck or white van bullshit.
This includes the “ghost letter” bullshit. They claim it’s so they can blend in and catch violations as they happen. Bro everyone can see a cop driving from a mile away by the way they drive, the reinforced grill, the slightly beefier trim to hide the installed lights, etc.
I honestly wouldn’t know. I live in Canada and police vehicles here are incredibly obvious and marked. Some unmarked vehicles do exist, but they are for detectives and people going after more serious crimes and dont care about parking tickets and jaywalkers.
Same here in Aus. Only ever seen rushing to actual shit going down stuff.
Oh you mean pre-crime, we absolutely need to violate your rights to prevent pre-crime.
You should not be under any obligation to assume or respect any proposed authority by a person unwilling to show you their face.
This sentence should not need to be spoken.
You should not be under any obligation to assume or respect any proposed authority by a person unwilling to show you their face.
Explaining this to the guy with a badge and a mask shoving a gun in my face.
He’s screaming and cocking the weapon, while a few of his friends approach me with tasers and clubs, but I’m just going to stand here waving a copy of John Locke’s Social Contract while explaining that I am a Free Man On The Land and do not make joinder.
Conversely, I should not be required to show my face to anyone if I’m not trying to assert authority over them. Being a public servant means having a public identity, being a private citizen means you have the freedom to make choices about what you share.
I agree, but there’s a difference between oversight and law enforcement there. If I am telling someone they need to justify restrictions in a behavior plan, that’s different than something for which someone else may be arrested. In the former example, I think they should be able to wear an N95 for health reasons.
“Oh? You want to “detain” my student/employee/friend/partner? You have to prove you’re a law enforcement official and are legally-allowed to.”
If that sounds unreasonable to anyone… you’re the extremist.
It’s totally reasonable, but it’ll probably also get you deported to El Salvador. Or at the very least beat.
Problem is they aren’t required to prove it to you - some witness - unless it’s your child that’s involved, and they can take their sweet time providing proof to the person being detained as well, waiting until they’ve already thrown you to the ground and cuffed you.
If I see some goon kidnap someone ima involve myself.
Citizens arrest I’ll shout
Stop resisting I’ll shout.
What’s good for the goose
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Ok!
Good. Let the cowards face their victims
Good… personal freedom and all that
If this law is enacted, the Supreme Court will say that states can’t frustrate the operations of federal agents with these sorts of laws. Chief Justice Roberts will write the opinion and compare it to giving states the power to ban bulletproof vests from being worn by federal law enforcement and call it “a step from anarchy”. Clarence Thomas will then write a concurring opinion saying that federal agents acting on orders from the president should actually be immune for any type of civil or criminal liability for any of their actions, lawful or not.
Then, when a Democratic president takes office the court will walk it back and say “well, actually, there’s this exception, and this exception, and that exception…”
Then, when a Democratic president takes office the court will walk it back and say “well, actually, there’s this exception, and this exception, and that exception…”
Or they won’t, because the Dem president will simply “not abuse such powers” due to their “adherence to decorum”.
The SC made the president god-king while Biden was in office.
Stop hogging the time machine, give someone else a chance to document inevitable future
Stop listening to the supreme court.
This might come as a shock to most people, but literally nothing the supreme court says is legally-binding.
This has to pass. And other states need to follow suit. It’s ridiculous any law enforcement can hide who they are unless they’re undercover.
The thin blue line is how much responsibility they’re willing to accept. And it’s a very very thin line right now.
Has an undercover cop ever really benefited the people?
I’d love to be corrected on this, but when it comes to cops, I’ma doubt that real fucking fast.
Well, germany was pretty fond of one if their undercover cops for a few years.
It went badly though.
Officers in my area wear face coverings when doing drug or gang related warrants to protect against retaliation.
Doesn’t matter if it passes. The president doesn’t abide by the law, so they don’t need to either.
Plus, who is going to enforce it, cops? Lol
And suddenly, all ICE agents are deemed undercover agents, plus with medical need to wear masks
I get it for that balaclava stuff, which doesn’t have a lot of functional use unless it’s very cold.
But cops are gonna sometimes need to wear a gas mask, and that’s gonna obscure features.
That’s one of the main “exceptions” mentioned in the article:
Under the proposal, law enforcement officials would be exempted from the mask ban if they serve on a SWAT team or if a mask is necessary for medical or health reasons, including to prevent smoke inhalation.
But I can see the claim of “health reasons” being abused.
They will absolutely claim they need it for protection from Covid. And it all of a sudden won’t hinder their breathing at all.
Then they should only be allowed to wear a full gasmask or a standard medical mask in those engagements.
None of this balaclava shit.
Make them uncomfortable or hypocrates.
Oh, and regardless of when they are wearing a mask or not, they need to have their ID number printed clearly visible on their helmets, their vests (back and front), and their pants.
Full gasmask and helmet with a photo of the officer. Require a distinctive pose in the photo by each member of a department for easy identification by face-blind folks. This reveals the officers’ anime preferences and thereby lets the public know levels of threat.
And let’s get an exhale filter on that gas mask, because during the pandemic is now. Every broken chain of transmission is still valuable, especially for vulnerable persons targeted by cops.
Which would be obnoxiously ironic, considering how police unions fought tooth and nail against mask mandates during the pandemic. Fucking idiots.
Is there a reason why SWAT gets a general exception?
It’s likely phrased in the law as closer to while serving on a swat team, as in they’re actively wearing a ballistic face shield and gas mask for legitimate reasons.
It’s a prime opportunity for things to get lost in translation between the law, the person talking to the press, and the report.
Tactical breaching equipment has head and facial protection on just about everything.
Smoke inhalation too, because of smoke grenades and flashbangs
And theres the problem of frequent blood spatter. College kids and old people bleed a lot.
Ya
flashbang
I hate breathing crib fumes
if a mask is necessary
I’m not sure if this will be the case, but does that cover the case where they’re the reason? Because that’s one way to ensure escalation to “tear gas on hand, everywhere, at all times.”
Maybe they shouldn’t be committing war crimes on civilians.
Fuck em. Tear gas is on outlawed war weapon. They should have been jailed for it’s use.
I don’t care what reason a cop has anymore. They are liars all of them trained and required to be. That right there takes a certain lack of care for fellow humans
So cops and law enforcement as they are currently practiced are as big a threat as trump.
Until they turn on trump, they are complicit
Cold does not apply. This is california. Park rangers might sometimes need to go places where you need more than a light jacket, but no other cop ever will.
A cop does not ever need a gas mask.
They can simply choose to not deploy gas.
They’re not running into fucking burning buildings. Nobody else uses gas munitions. Gas is a terror weapon.
Whoopsie daisy, looks like we all need to wear gas masks today boys! Our buddy in forensics says there’s totally a legitimate risk today, so the gas masks gotta come out
