Baltimore County Council rejects mask ban on ICE, other law enforcement

Natalie Jones, Baltimore Sun on Mar 16, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

A Baltimore County Council bill that would have barred law enforcement officers from wearing masks while on duty and required them to visibly display identification failed Monday night after not garnering support from anyone but the bill sponsor.

Introduced by Councilman Izzy Patoka, a Pikesville Democrat who’s running for county executive, the measure came on the heels of concerns about the conduct of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers across the country after two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were fatally shot by immigration agents.

“To me, ICE is wearing masks for one of two reasons … One is to create a level of fear, and secondly, to create a sense of terror, and I just don’t think it’s right,” Patoka said at a council meeting Monday. “I’ve thought about this a lot, and to me, there’s no other reason other law enforcement agencies don’t practice these tactics.”

Other government bodies have advanced similar legislation. The Maryland Senate, for instance, approved a bill last month prohibiting all law enforcement officers, including federal agents, from wearing face coverings in most situations — though a letter from the Maryland Attorney General’s Office said that the state mask ban itself is “not clearly unconstitutional,” but that it would be “difficult and likely unconstitutional” to enforce.

At the local level, Patoka’s bill has faced scrutiny and questions about enforcement, particularly as it relates to the Baltimore County Police Department, which would have been subject to the ban as well, though officers are only allowed to wear face coverings in limited circumstances.

Under an amendment publicly introduced Monday, Patoka sought to exclude the Baltimore County Police Department, the Baltimore County Sheriff’s Office and the Baltimore County Department of Corrections from the ban.

“I don’t believe that the Baltimore County Police Department engages in this type of activity,” he said Monday. “I think they behave in a much more professional manner, in a manner that more is on the line of community policing, and ICE is more on a line of terror policing.”

Unable to carve out local law

Patoka first made reference to the amendment during remarks to the Baltimore County Fraternal Order of Police earlier this month after he was asked whether he would rescind his legislation in light of the guidance from the Maryland Attorney General’s office — and the fact that county police officers only wear masks for safety or weather reasons.

But in those comments, Patoka acknowledged that introducing a carveout for local law enforcement would likely make the bill unconstitutional.

“So, I think I’m going to have to pull it because I can’t have it both ways,” he said in a video posted by the county Fraternal Order of Police on Facebook. “I can’t exclude the Baltimore County Police Department and have it legal.”

The amendment and the legislation both failed after no other council members voiced support.

A Baltimore County Office of Law analysis found that enforcing a mask ban on federal law enforcement would be vulnerable to a challenge, according to a letter of information the county submitted for the legislation in February.

Republican council members had also balked at the bill. Councilman Todd Crandell, a Dundalk Republican, accused Patoka of political pandering ahead of a crowded Democratic primary in June. Councilman David Marks, a Republican from Upper Falls, raised concerns about doxing federal agents.

_____