Streeter: Police accountability starts with showing your face

Many convenience stores prohibit patrons from wearing ski masks and hoodies inside, because there is an assumption that if you are hiding your face, you might be planning something criminal.

If my middle schooler has to show his face to buy a Krispy Kreme doughnut and a chicken box as a measure to protect a store, shouldn’t police officers show their faces to protect the community?

There is a disturbing and seemingly increasing number of law enforcement personnel who are working in the community in masks and other materials that cover their faces. Starting last Thursday, though, a new Maryland law requires the Maryland Police Training and Standards Commission to create a uniform policy making it illegal for working officers to cover their faces unless given certain exemptions.

And that’s excellent. Because if you’re on the up and up and not doing anything untoward or harmful, you should have no issue with everyone knowing who you are.

Right?

The subject of masked law enforcement agents has created fear and concern nationwide, particularly regarding officers of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Several states, including California, New York and Virginia, have made strides — and then faced setbacks — trying to get laws on the books as the Justice Department has countered that federal officers risk “harassment, doxing and even violence” if their faces are exposed. The Trump administration on Thursday announced that it was suing Maryland over the new law, arguing that it affects how federal law enforcement officers do their work.

Again I ask: How is there supposed to be any accountability without transparency? Maybe there isn’t supposed to be. That cannot stand.

“The real impetus [for the Maryland bill] was the plea of my constituents who were, and continue to be, terrorized by ICE agents and masked people,” said state Sen. Malcolm Augustine, the bill’s sponsor, who represents parts of Prince George’s County. “You have unmarked people literally just grabbing people off the street with no warrant, no nothing, in a lawless fashion.”

Once there is a uniform practice in place, it will require law enforcement to act “in a way that is more human and treats people with dignity,” he said. When Officer Friendly was visiting the Northwood Elementary auditorium in the 1970s, I never imagined there would have to be a law to ensure that. But it is what it is.

“Anytime you’re hiding or covering your face to hide your identity so people don’t know who you are, is rife for abuse,” said state Sen. Charles Sydnor of Baltimore, a co-sponsor of the bill. “It becomes a lot easier to be abusive because it becomes more difficult to assign responsibility and accountability.”

Baltimore Police spokesperson Lindsey Eldridge explained that the department’s officers have long worked within open parameters, regardless of new regulations.

“For years, the Baltimore Police Department has operated under policies that emphasize transparency, enhance communication, and ensure accountability in how our officers interact with the public,” she said, noting that officers must clearly identify themselves as department members, including through department-issued vests clearly marked “Baltimore Police.”

In other states and even in Baltimore County, similar bills have sometimes been opposed by law enforcement officers, who have said they don’t want to be associated with federal agents. “They were concerned that they didn’t want to be blamed for the same behavior that ICE has been blamed for, the unprofessional behavior of a so-called law enforcement entity like ICE,” County Council member Izzy Patoka told WJZ in March when a local bill was voted down. With the new statewide bill, consequences for officers who don’t comply include a civil penalty and a potential fine of up to $1,500.

Augustine believes this policy is going to work partly because of the reaction to his and his constituents’ apprehensions about the covering of faces and identities. “Our concerns were backed up by local law enforcement who reached out and said, ‘This is not how we build trust with community. This is wrong.’”

I am glad to hear that. The men and women we entrust to protect us should be held to a higher standard, especially in terms of accountability, because the stakes and their level of responsibility should be greater than anything else.

What the law means is this: As of Oct. 1, the Maryland Police Training and Standards Commission had to start creating the policy that will apply to any entity, federal or local, that engages in law enforcement in the state. Augustine said that there is no hard deadline, but that he’s hopeful that the board, which meets quarterly and will convene in January 2027, will act quickly.

The national practice of masked, unidentifiable persons roaming the streets has spurred fears that some of these encounters were straight-up abductions conducted by rogues who weren’t really ICE officers at all, kidnapping people and spiriting them away to do God knows what. The law does not address impersonation, but Augustine believes that strengthening restrictions on officers will make it easier to know who is actually law enforcement.

I asked both senators if, once this is finalized, ICE will have to abide by the state-issued ban or rather the Supremacy Clause, which constitutionally gives federal laws precedence over local ones if there is a conflict. Augustine said the state-issued ban will apply across the board, while Sydnor thinks Maryland should follow the feds’ playbook. “If the law is applied to [ICE officers], let’s leave it up to the courts to decide whether we have exceeded our authority,” he said.

Law enforcement’s job is supposed to be to protect citizens and the community. Being accountable to that community requires showing your face and being proud of your actions. There shouldn’t be more accountability for buying a chicken box.

Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the response of the Baltimore Police Department. The story has been updated to reflect a statement from the department.