Officers who cover their faces could be charged with a misdemeanor under
California proposal
[June 17, 2025]
By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ
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.
If approved, the bill would require all law enforcement officials to
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 would exempt 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.
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.
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A U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent looks on during a protest
outside the Federal Building on Friday, June 13, 2025, in Los
Angeles. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)
Videos of raids showing masked officers using unmarked vehicles and
grabbing people off the streets have circulated on social media in
recent weeks.
Ed Obayashi, a special prosecutor in California and an expert on
national and state police practices, said the proposed legislation
would be tough to enforce because federal officers can’t be
prosecuted by state courts for activities performed during their
official duties.
“If they are following federal directives, they are following
federal law,” Obayashi said.
He said that when it comes to local and state officers, they are
already required by law to have identifiable information and
department insignia on their uniforms.
Todd Lyons, ICE’s acting director, has defended his officers using
facemasks, saying they wear them to protect themselves from death
threats and online harassment.
“I’m sorry if people are offended by them wearing masks, but I’m not
going to let my officers and agents go out there and put their lives
on the line, their family on the line because people don’t like what
immigration enforcement is,” he said at a news conference earlier
this month in Boston to announce nearly 1,500 arrests in the region
as part of a monthlong “surge operation.”
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