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.

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[–] 33 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (13 children)

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.

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  • [–] 19 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    They will absolutely claim they need it for protection from Covid. And it all of a sudden won’t hinder their breathing at all.

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  • [–] 15 points 1 year ago* (1 child)

    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.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    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.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    Smoke inhalation too, because of smoke grenades and flashbangs

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Is there a reason why SWAT gets a general exception?

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  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago

    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.

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