The Los Angeles Police Department announced that it will not enforce a California law prohibiting federal agents from wearing masks.
While Police Chief Jim McDonnell voiced his frustrations about immigration enforcement activities, he noted that the policy was not well thought out.
“The reality of one armed agency approaching another armed agency to create conflict over something that would be a misdemeanor at best or an infraction, it doesn’t make any sense. It’s not a good public policy decision and it wasn’t well thought out in my opinion,” McDonnell said, as per Los Angeles Daily News.
“You look across the country, you see the things that are happening. We are in line with our federal partners on everything except immigration enforcement. What we’ve seen since June here in Los Angeles and seen across the country, we’re as frustrated as everybody else about the way that’s being done,” he said.
“We look at 50 years of developing relationships with our immigrant communities,” McDonnell added. “That is critically important to us and to have that threatened in any way is something that’s sad to see and we certainly will work hard to rebuild those relationships.”
The law at the center of the issue, Senate Bill 627, was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom (D) in September. According to SB 627, the “routine use of facial coverings by law enforcement officers has significant implications for public perception, officer-community interactions, and accountability.” Facial coverings may cause members of the public to “experience fear or intimidation when approached by officers whose faces are obscured” and “may lead to misinterpretation of tone or intent.”
