Nassau County Police Make First Arrest Using Mask Ban
The Facts
Police in Nassau County, a suburb of New York City, Tuesday announced they made their first arrest using a new local law banning the wearing of face masks.
Police officials described responding Sunday to reports of a suspicious person near the town line between Levittown and Hicksville. Wesslin Omar Ramirez Castillo, a teenager, was found wearing black clothing and a black ski mask that left just his eyes unobscured.
The Spin
This is a great example of how the mask ban was supposed to work. Police were able to interrogate someone under the parameters of the ban and then apprehend a dangerous criminal. There should be a statewide ban on masks in order to crack down on criminals who want to obscure their identity.
All this law does is give law enforcement agencies that are already known for their history of discrimination and over aggressiveness more leeway to violate people's civil rights. Something as benign as wearing a mask should not fall into the police's "reasonable suspicion" power. This law is ripe for abuse.
