Politics
Justice Department challenges Portland rules on masked officers and identification
The federal government is asking a court to block Portland’s ordinance restricting law enforcement officers’ use of masks and requiring them to show identification. The challenge follows a federal appeals court ruling against enforcement of a similar California law.
The U.S. Department of Justice sued Portland on Thursday, Oct. 15, seeking to invalidate a city ordinance that restricts law enforcement officers, including federal agents, from wearing masks and requires them to display clear identification.
The lawsuit was filed a day after a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals directed a lower court to block California from enforcing a similar identification law against federal officers. The appeals court said the federal government was likely to prevail because the state law attempted to regulate federal operations without authorization from Congress.
In its filing, Justice Department attorney Brandon D. Neuman urged the court to join other courts that have rejected similar measures and to block Portland’s ordinance. The lawsuit targets the city, not the state of Oregon.
Portland’s City Council passed the ordinance in May. Before the vote, City Attorney Robert Taylor warned that it was likely to face a direct legal challenge. Mayor Keith Wilson urged Commissioner Sameer Kanal, who proposed the measure, to withdraw it, calling it a “grave mistake” that could put the city in legally untenable dealings with the federal government.
Kanal said Thursday that he could not comment on the litigation but defended the policy’s purpose. Identifiable officers, he said, promote transparency and strengthen trust between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve.
Courts in California, Virginia, New York and Philadelphia have halted similar state or local laws, according to the lawsuit. The 9th Circuit case involved California’s so-called No Vigilantes Act, which generally requires non-uniformed federal officers working in the state to visibly display identification.
Oregon has also enacted a separate statewide measure. Gov. Tina Kotek signed House Bill 4138, the Law Enforcement Accountability & Visibility Act, earlier this year. It bars facial coverings for law enforcement officers operating in Oregon, including federal immigration agents, with exceptions for undercover and tactical operations. The law gives agencies 180 days to develop compliance policies and publish them online.
The dispute places Portland’s effort to make officers more identifiable in a growing legal conflict over whether state and local governments can impose such requirements on federal agents.