Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Jackson County Weighs Ordinance Requiring Officers to Show Faces and Badges

The measure returned to the agenda for a second perfection under the Anti-Crime Committee.

Overview

  • The proposal would bar most on-duty officers from concealing their identities, with limited exemptions for undercover work, tactical operations, medical needs, and similar circumstances.
  • Agencies would have to adopt written exemption policies and submit annual reports to county lawmakers on how those exceptions are used.
  • Violations could trigger internal discipline, exposure to civil liability, and criminal misdemeanor charges under the draft language.
  • Sponsor and Legislature Chair Manny Abarca frames the ordinance as a transparency and accountability standard and says he is open to amendments.
  • Sheriff Darryl Forte opposes the plan on officer-safety grounds, and Legislator Sean Smith questions de-escalation impacts and practical enforceability; the debate follows heightened attention after a masked ICE officer fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis.