By Sierra van der Brug
Los Angeles Daily News
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles police do not plan to enforce recently enacted state and local bans that prohibit federal law enforcement officers from wearing masks during enforcement operations, the police chief said Thursday.
Chief Jim McDonnell, when asked at a news conference about mask bans, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law in September and which separately won approval by Los Angeles County supervisors, said he disagreed with the policies, citing the possibility of conflict between police and other agencies if they were to be enforced.
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“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.
“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.
McDonnell expressed hope for “some reconciliation as far as reapproaching strategy and tactics that are being deployed to get a better outcome overall.”
“We look at 50 years of developing relationships with our immigrant communities. 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,” McDonnell said.
The sweeping ban on face coverings for most law enforcement officials was signed into law by Newsom in September. Senate Bill 627, known as the No Secret Police Act, was introduced following waves of immigration raids across California. The law makes exceptions for SWAT teams, undercover operations and medically or situationally necessary face coverings.
The law went into effect on Jan. 1, but is not being enforced after the Department of Justice has mounted a challenge to its constitutionality, stating that it creates risks for agents, including doxing and harassment.
A similar ordinance was approved in December by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, affecting law enforcement who operate in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the law enforcement agency that patrols unincorporated Los Angeles County, said that federal law makes the department unable to enforce the ban.
“Federal law governs civil immigration matters, and under the U.S. Constitution, federal authority supersedes state and local laws. As a local law enforcement entity, we do not create federal policy, but we are required to operate within the legal framework it establishes.
“Current federal law will not allow us to enforce the proposed ordinance on federal agents, should the courts decide differently we will adjust accordingly,” the department said.
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