As the Los Angeles police chief refuses to enforce a California mask ban, New Jersey lawmakers push a copycat bill that would expose officers and their families to retaliation.
By: Craig W. Floyd
McLean, VA (February 5, 2026) – As several blue states move to ban law enforcement officers from wearing protective masks on duty, the pushback is growing — not just from police unions and rank‑and‑file officers, but now from police chiefs themselves.
This week, Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell made headlines when he announced that LAPD officers will not enforce California’s new mask ban on federal agents. Due to a current legal stay, the law is not being enforced statewide, but his blunt reasoning goes further:
“It wasn’t 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.”
That same political theater is now unfolding in New Jersey, where lawmakers are racing to pass their own version of a mask ban — a bill that would criminalize one of the most basic safety measures officers rely on to protect themselves and their families from retaliation.
In a recent op‑ed, David Berez, a retired New Jersey police officer and member of our Law Enforcement Advisory Council, lays out exactly why this legislation is not just misguided — it’s dangerous.
A Mask Ban That Ignores Reality
Supporters of the New Jersey bill claim it will improve “accountability” by making officers more identifiable. But as Berez points out, this argument collapses under even minimal scrutiny.
Officers don’t wear masks for intimidation.
They wear them because doxxing is real — and increasingly deadly.
Federal officers have seen a 1,000% increase in assaults in recent years, much of it tied to criminals identifying agents online, targeting their homes, and threatening their families. Berez cites chilling examples:
- After ICE agents arrested nearly 200 violent offenders in Nashville, the mayor’s office published their names. Within days, MS‑13 and Tren de Aragua began targeting those agents and their families.
- In Texas, an officer’s spouse received a call saying, “I hope your kids get deported by accident… what happened to the Nazis after WWII is what’s going to happen to your family.”
As Berez says in his op-ed, “These are not hypotheticals—they are the stark reality of law enforcement families when anonymity is stripped away.”
Criminalizing Survival
New Jersey’s proposed law would impose fines and even jail time on officers who wear protective face coverings — including balaclavas used during winter patrols. As Berez notes, this would force officers to choose between following the law and protecting themselves from retaliation.
It would also undermine federal protections like 18 USC 115, which criminalizes threats against officers’ families. Forcing officers to expose their identities makes those protections meaningless.
And the constitutional problems are glaring. As mentioned, California’s mask ban has already been stayed and is facing a federal challenge under the Supremacy Clause, which bars states from regulating federal operations. Even the bill’s sponsor in New Jersey has admitted the law would likely fall if California’s does.
So why push it?
Because, as Berez argues, the goal isn’t reform — it’s symbolism. “It’s signaling allegiance to a political movement that views traditional policing as an obstacle to be dismantled,” not strengthened.
A Warning From California
Chief McDonnell’s refusal to enforce California’s mask ban should be a wake‑up call for lawmakers in New Jersey and beyond. When a major city police chief publicly says a law is so poorly conceived that enforcing it could spark conflict between two armed agencies, something is deeply wrong.
Berez’s message is clear:
Mask bans don’t protect the public.
They don’t improve accountability.
They don’t advance reform.
They endanger officers, embolden criminals, and put families at risk — all for the sake of political optics.
David Berez’s full op-ed was published on SaveJersey.com and can be read at: New Jersey’s Police Mask Ban: A Deadly Political Stunt (OPINION)
