Detroit City Councilwoman Mary Waters has proposed an ordinance that would ban local, state, and federal law enforcement officers from wearing masks or other facial coverings while performing their duties in Detroit. The proposal is aimed at preventing officers from enforcing the law "with impunity" when their identities are concealed.
The move comes after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a 24-year-old man who was killed by two federal agents in Minneapolis for video-recording immigration enforcement on January 24th. Waters has stated that her ordinance aims to honor Pretti's memory and ensure that law enforcement officers can be identified while performing their duties.
Under the proposed ordinance, any local, state, or federal law enforcement personnel would be prohibited from wearing masks or other facial coverings while in Detroit. Penalties for non-compliance would be determined by the city law department.
This proposal is not the first of its kind; several cities, including Los Angeles County and Philadelphia, have recently introduced similar ordinances to regulate the use of masks by federal immigration agents. In Denver, city council members have proposed an ordinance that would prohibit officers from concealing their identities during interrogations, detentions, or arrests.
However, experts warn that local efforts to regulate federal officers may face constitutional challenges under the Supremacy Clause. As a result, it remains unclear whether these bans can effectively prevent federal immigration agents from acting with impunity and wearing masks in various jurisdictions.
The ordinance must be approved by the Detroit City Council before it can take effect, and if adopted, the city law department would determine how violations are enforced.
The move comes after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a 24-year-old man who was killed by two federal agents in Minneapolis for video-recording immigration enforcement on January 24th. Waters has stated that her ordinance aims to honor Pretti's memory and ensure that law enforcement officers can be identified while performing their duties.
Under the proposed ordinance, any local, state, or federal law enforcement personnel would be prohibited from wearing masks or other facial coverings while in Detroit. Penalties for non-compliance would be determined by the city law department.
This proposal is not the first of its kind; several cities, including Los Angeles County and Philadelphia, have recently introduced similar ordinances to regulate the use of masks by federal immigration agents. In Denver, city council members have proposed an ordinance that would prohibit officers from concealing their identities during interrogations, detentions, or arrests.
However, experts warn that local efforts to regulate federal officers may face constitutional challenges under the Supremacy Clause. As a result, it remains unclear whether these bans can effectively prevent federal immigration agents from acting with impunity and wearing masks in various jurisdictions.
The ordinance must be approved by the Detroit City Council before it can take effect, and if adopted, the city law department would determine how violations are enforced.
I mean, one day you got people protesting for freedom of speech, next day you're trying to regulate what cops wear on their faces. It's like, come on, Detroit City Councilwoman Mary Waters wants to honor Alex Pretti's memory, but isn't she just creating a whole new set of problems? I'm all about transparency and accountability in law enforcement, but this feels like overreach.
... what's the point of making a rule to ban masks on cops if they're gonna just find other ways to hide their faces? Like, what's stopping them from just using their cars with tinted windows or something? 
And isn't this just another way for politicians to try to control things that don't really need to be controlled? Like, I get it, we want to make sure cops are identifiable, but do we really have to take away their right to wear a mask if they're doing their job? 
If officers gotta be identified while doing their job, maybe they're hiding something? 
I'm not sure about this ordinance, but it's clear that Detroit City Councilwoman Mary Waters wants to honor Alex Pretti's memory... 
That's really sad. What do you guys think? Should we just let law enforcement officers wear masks while they're working or should there be some limits? 
my cousin's friend was a cop and he always wore a mask on duty his brother-in-law was killed by an ICE agent in 2018 and it's still so fresh in their minds they're super against cops who hide behind masks anyway I think it's kinda reasonable to want transparency but at the same time, what if these agents are literally threatened for their lives because of their job? my friend works in the social media marketing world and she just lost her job to a guy with a "fake" online presence idk about the law but I do know that this is super relevant to the current events we need more awareness about police brutality 
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... i mean, come on, if u dont wanna be held accountable 4 ur actions, just wear a mask! problem solved 
... but seriously, how r we supposed 2 know w/ certainty that these ordinances will actually make a difference? and what about when they just switch to a different kind of face covering 
It feels like another way for us to police each other instead of actually addressing the issues that lead to these kinds of situations in the first place. 
Like, what's next? Banning police from wearing sunglasses while patrolling? 
It's time to focus on real issues instead of playing politics with facial coverings. I get it, the Alex Pretti case was tragic, but shouldn't we be focusing on preventing unnecessary violence and promoting community trust? 
it's like they think we can't trust 'em anymore 
. What's next? Are we gonna start making them wear bright colors with their uniforms so we can spot 'em from a mile away? 
I know the intent behind Mary Waters' proposal is good, but these laws are just gonna get shot down in court, mark my words 
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. That's where the real change starts 
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! It's like they're trying to control what we know about our law enforcement officers 
. I mean, think about it - if they can't wear masks, that means they can still hide their identities and do whatever they want without being held accountable 
I'm not buying it. This is some kind of cover-up 
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. Just let the police do their job and worry about who's being bad guys, not what they're wearing on their face.