by
Michael
M.
Santiago/Getty
Images)
It’s
probably
too
much
to
ask,
but
I
hope
California
law
enforcement
agencies
will
remember
who
to
direct
their
hate
at
if
this
bill
becomes
law.
It’s
not
the
“liberals”
running
the
state.
It’s
the
Trump
administration
and
its
mass
deportation
efforts.
ICE
and
its
actions
have
always
been controversial,
but
it
took
a
group
of
bigots
serving
non-consecutive
terms
to
really unleash
its
inherent
ugliness.
What
we’ve
been
seeing
since
Trump’s
return
to
office
has
been
ICE
and
anti-brown
people
sentiment
at
its
worst.
ICE
raids
Home
Deport
parking
lots,
neighborhoods,
and
swap
meets,
rather
than performing
targeted
arrests of
truly
dangerous
undocumented
immigrants.
But
this
insistence
on
masking
officers
and
hiding
outward
designations
of
their
originating
agency
is
something
specifically
tied
to
Trump’s
second
administration.
ICE
has
sowed.
California
law
enforcement
agencies are
now
on
the
verge
of
reaping
this
particular
whirlwind,
as
CBS
News
reports.
Lawmakers
in
California
passed
a
bill on
Thursday
banning
most
local
and
federal
law
enforcement
officers
from
covering
their
faces
during
operations,
including
immigration
enforcement.
Senate
Bill
627,
known
as
the
No
Secret
Police
Act,
was
introduced
by
Democratic
state
Sens.
Scott
Wiener
of
San
Francisco
and
Jesse
Arreguin
of
Berkeley
in
June
after immigration
operations
ramped up
across
the
state
as
part
of
President
Trump’s
crackdown
on illegal
immigration. The
bill
will
now
head
to
Gov.
Gavin
Newsom’s
desk
for
final
approval.
The bill [PDF]
opens
up
with
the
legislators’
refusal
to
allow
law
enforcement
to
take
advantage
of
preexisting
double-standard:
Existing
law
makes
it
a
misdemeanor
to
wear
a
mask,
false
whiskers,
or
any
personal
disguise,
as
specified,
with
the
purpose
of
evading
or
escaping
discovery,
recognition,
or
identification
while
committing
a
public
offense,
or
for
concealment,
flight,
evasion,
or
escape
from
arrest
or
conviction
for
any
public
offense.
This
bill
would
make
it
a
crime
for
a
law
enforcement
officer
to
wear
a
facial
covering
in
the
performance
of
their
duties,
except
as
specified.
The
bill
would
define
law
enforcement
officer
as
anyone
designated
by
California
law
as
a
peace
officer
who
is
employed
by
a
city,
county,
or
other
local
agency,
and
any
officer
or
agent
of
a
federal
law
enforcement
agency
or
law
enforcement
agency
of
another
state,
or
any
person
acting
on
behalf
of
a
federal
law
enforcement
agency
or
agency
of
another
state.
The
bill
would
make
a
violation
of
these
provisions
punishable
as
an
infraction
or
a
misdemeanor,
as
specified.
By
creating
a
new
crime,
this
bill
would
impose
a
state-mandated
local
program.
This
won’t
stop
ICE
and
other
federal
officers
from
wearing
masks
while
terrorizing
the
populace,
of
course.
But
it
will
at
least
prevent
local
law
enforcement
from
blending
in
with
Trump’s
masked
goon
squads,
which
might
discourage
them
from
pitching
in
with
questionable
“round
up
all
the
brown
people”
raids
performed
by
ICE
and
its
federal
partners.
Added
to
the
bill
are
a
lot
of
official
legislative
declarations
—
ones
that
point
out
the
numerous
problems
created
by
officers
who
choose
to
disguise
themselves
when
performing
their
public
duties.
(a)[T]he
routine
use
of
facial
coverings
by
law
enforcement
officers
has
significant
implications
for
public
perception,
officer-community
interactions,
and
accountability.
(b)
Whether
intentional
intended
or
not,
members
of
the
public
may
experience
fear
or
intimidation
when
approached
by
officers
whose
faces
are
obscured.
This
perception
can
heighten
defensive
behaviors
and
unnecessarily
escalate
situations.
(c)
Facial
coverings
limit
the
visibility
of
facial
expressions,
which
are
essential
components
of
nonverbal
communication.
In
high-stress
or
emotionally
charged
interactions,
the
inability
to
read
an
officer’s
expression
may
lead
to
misinterpretation
of
tone
or
intent,
increasing
the
risk
of
conflict
escalation.
(d)
The
visibility
of
an
officer’s
face
is
vital
for
promoting
transparency,
facilitating
communication,
and
building
trust
between
law
enforcement
agencies
and
the
communities
they
serve.
(e)
When
officers
are
not
readily
identifiable,
it
increases
the
risk
of
impersonation
by
unauthorized
individuals,
which
further
undermines
public
trust,
endangers
public
safety,
and
hinders
legitimate
law
enforcement
operations.
This
exposes
the
lie
that
is
used
most
frequently
by
law
enforcement:
that
masking
up
makes
officers
“safer.”
It
doesn’t.
It
creates
a
ton
of
negative
side
effects,
many
of
which
endanger
people
on
both
sides
of
the
law
enforcement
equation.
What
it
definitely does
not do
is
make
officers
“safer.”
On
top
of
that,
there’s
the
damage
done
to
the
public’s
relationship
with
law
enforcement,
which
has
never
been
great.
Destroying
trust
only
takes
a
few
self-serving
actions
by
cops
who’d
rather
have
their
power
completely
decoupled
from
any
responsibility.
Rebuilding
this
trust
takes
maximum
effort
and
years
of
work
—
something
almost
no
law
enforcement
agency
(federal
or
local)
is
willing
to
do.
So,
the
baseline
is
trust
that
has
likely
been
irreparably
damaged.
And
now,
law
enforcement
seems
to
think
the
best
way
to
do
cop
business
is
by
destroying
what
little
trust
remains
by
dressing
up
like
cartel
death
squads
while
enforcing
civil
laws
pertaining
to
citizenship.
Cops
will
no
doubt
complain
about
this
new
mandate
if
it’s
codified.
Fuck
them.
They
had
all
the
time
in
the
world
to
repair
their
relationship
with
the
public.
And
if
they’ve
chosen
to
be
more
like
ICE
in
its
current
iteration,
they
absolutely
need
to
have
this
dubious
privilege
taken
out
of
their
hands.
California
Lawmakers
Pass
A
Bill
That
Would
Ban
Use
of
Face
Masks
By
Law
Enforcement
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