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Across the Portland metro area and the country, masked, unidentified individuals posing as law enforcement are abducting residents off the street and outside of schools, homes and businesses. If someone is depriving you of your freedom, you have a right to know who they are.
The Right to Know Who's Policing You Ordinance would prohibit all law enforcement from wearing facial coverings to intentionally conceal their identities, require them to display visible identification, and direct local police to verify that unidentified individuals who are attempting to detain someone are indeed law enforcement.
Other cities and states are taking similar steps to protect their communities, including St. Paul, Denver, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and the states of California, Maryland, New York and Virginia. Now the Oregon State Legislature has passed the Law Enforcement Accountability and Visibility Act, which requires cities with law enforcement agencies to have policies restricting the use of masks. With this ordinance, we can build more public trust in law enforcement through accountability and transparency and help protect Portlanders from assaults and kidnappings by individuals posing as law enforcement.
Federal law requires all law enforcement to display visible identification, and the FBI has acknowledged the need for federal agents to cooperate with requests for identification as imposters are increasingly posing as law enforcement to commit crimes.
It's simple: If federal agents want to supersede state and local laws, they must first prove they are federal agents.
On May 13, the City Council will continue its first reading of this ordinance. You can submit written testimony here.