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California Passes ‘No Secret Police Act’ to Ban Masked Officers

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Senators pass the No Secret Police Act. This will ban law enforcement from using face coverings and require clear identification for law enforcement in California

Los Angeles Police Department officers wear face masks
Credit: Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images

California lawmakers have passed a landmark measure on Sept. 11 banning law enforcement officers from concealing their faces during operations. The bill is now being sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk for final approval.

“Law enforcement should never be easily confused with the guy in the ski mask robbing a liquor store,” Senator Wiener said. “Yet that’s what’s happening with ICE’s extreme masking.”

SB 627, known as the No Secret Police Act, was authored by Sen. Scott Wiener and co-authored by Sens. Jesse Arreguin, Sasha Renée Pérez and Aisha Wahab. The bill prohibits local, state, and federal officers from using “extreme masking” to hide their identities while operating in California, according to a press release.

The bill prohibits local, state and federal officers from using “extreme masking” to hide their identities while operating in California. Officers would be required to display clear identification. This comes with the exception of SWAT teams, undercover assignments, wildfire smoke protection and medical-grade masks. Violations could result in criminal or civil penalties, according to a press release.

The press release further detailed that the recent federal operations, in which law enforcement showed no identification, have created an environment of profound terror in California.

A peaceful protest of activists and citizens opposing recent ICE raids occupies one side of Temple Street.
A peaceful protest of activists and citizens opposing recent ICE raids occupies one side of Temple Street.
Credit: Eli Young

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This behavior has already sparked dangerous copycat crimes, including a case in Florida where a woman was arrested for allegedly posing as a masked ICE officer to kidnap her ex-boyfriend’s wife, according to Fox News.

“If we want the public to trust law enforcement,” Wiener said, “ we cannot allow them to behave like secret police in an authoritarian state.”

SB 627 passed the Assembly 45-23 and the Senate 26-9. Newsom has until mid-October to sign or veto the bill.

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Cristal Soto

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