Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman issued an executive order on Friday allowing law enforcement officers to officially wear masks while working.
“Today, I am issuing an executive order making it clear that federal, state, and local law enforcement officers, while carrying out specific operations pursuant to the policies and procedures of their respective agencies or departments, with the approval of their supervisor, may wear masks or face coverings,” Blakeman said.
The executive order clarifies that police officers, sheriff’s deputies, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents may lawfully cover their faces under certain circumstances, Blakeman said.
Nassau County signed a partnership with ICE in February to allow 10 Nassau County detectives as part of a federal task force to aid in arresting immigrants without legal status.
Blakeman and Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said patrol officers on duty will not be masked and the masks were reserved for “specific investigations.”
Blakeman said his intent with the order was to “clarify” the mask ban he signed into law in August 2024. The ban prevents anyone in the county from concealing their identity with a mask, barring medical or religious exceptions.
Blakeman’s order comes in the wake of multiple ICE arrests in Nassau County and the state, some of which have involved officers wearing masks.
He cited protesters targeting police or agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement wearing masks, and those who have had their personal information exposed.
Westbury residents confronted Homeland Security Investigations agents working with ICE last month during an investigation near an elementary school. The confrontation led agents to speed away, resulting in a crash a block away, before agents were aided by Nassau County police to leave unharmed.
“We saw what happened in Westbury. It got out of hand real quick. We got the ICE agents out of there. They had an accident. We were not involved in that roundup,” Ryder said. “That’s to make sure everybody stays safe, but we also have to protect the identity of our cops.”
Masked ICE arrests have sparked backlash towards officers masking, including legislation introduced in New York City that would ban ICE agents from wearing masks to conceal their identities. Blakeman called that bill “pro-criminal and un-American” while signing his executive order.
Nassau County Legislator and Democratic Minority Caucus Leader Delia DeRiggi-Whitton said Blakeman’s new executive order says more about his 2024 mask ban, which was passed primarily in response to pro-Palestinian protests, than anything else.
“This executive order is a quiet admission that his original law is most likely illegal,” said DeRiggi-Whitton, referring to the 2024 mask ban. “Democrats warned from day one that Blakeman’s mask ban was vague, overbroad, and more focused on politics than the public good.”
“We proposed a clear, constitutional alternative focused on actual criminal conduct. Instead, the county executive chose a political headline over sound policy, and now he’s scrambling to patch the consequences,” she added. Democrats had proposed an alternative to the 2024 law, where people would face elevated charges for committing a crime while wearing a mask, which the legislature’s GOP majority ignored.
Blakeman said those who critiqued both his mask man and his executive order were hypocritical.
“What I find very troubling is the very same people who criticized our mask law are the same people who are saying law enforcement officers in the performance of their duty can’t wear a mask to protect their identity if they’re involved in a sensitive investigation…or if they’re involved in an exercise where it may be dangerous to them or their family,” Blakeman said.
Ryder, Sheriff Anthony LaRocco and Nassau County Fire Marshal Michael Uttaro were present at the signing of the executive order.
Blakeman said the executive order showed his support for the county’s law enforcement.
