"From a practical standpoint, our role when we get to a scene is to de-escalate the situation, not to ramp it up," McDonnell said. "Trying to enforce a misdemeanor violation on another law enforcement agency, that's not going to end well. And that's not going to be good."
"From a public safety standpoint for anybody in that environment. Potentially you have a crowd that could be agitated and trying to get their point across," he added. "And then you have the ICE agents who are doing their job. And for us to come in then and try and create an enforcement action for wearing a mask, it's not a safe way to do business."
In September 2025, Newsom signed a bill into law banning law enforcement from wearing face coverings while conducting official business across the state.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/lapd-chief-defies-newsoms-mask-ban-federal-immigration-agents-citing-safety-concerns
