Police accountability advocates say that the federal agents roving the District of Columbia’s streets — at times in masks and in unmarked cars with out-of-state plates — are creating confusion for residents that could carry safety risks.
They’re concerned about the possibility of people mistaking criminal acts for law enforcement operations, and vice versa. Some also warn that the lack of identifiability could lead to mistakes that could put responding law enforcement personnel in harm’s way.
“If officers are patrolling public spaces with the power to detain an arrest, which is what you’re seeing, how are people supposed to identify who they’re dealing with, what agency they represent?” said Alicia Yass, counsel for the District’s American Civil Liberties Union.