Two men harassed Fresno shoppers while posing as ICE agents. Police should identify them | Opinion
Publicity can be a double-edged sword. Which is why police should not protect bozos that masquerade as law enforcement from cutting themselves.
The Fresno Police Department this week arrested two men accused of posing as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who allegedly filmed themselves confronting customers at 11 local businesses – weeks after actual ICE and U.S. Border Patrol operations in the San Joaquin Valley caused fear and panic among undocumented residents.
The duo wore wigs and black tactical vests with letters deliberately obscured so they read “Police” and “ICE,” according to police. At one store, they allegedly told employees they were conducting an investigation and demanded to see specific business documents.
Tipped off by multiple people who complained about the harassment, authorities arrested the pair Wednesday at River Park Shopping Center for impersonating police officers, a misdemeanor. They were cited and later released – without having their identities revealed.
“As their actions were done simply to gain attention on their personal social media pages, we will not be releasing their names or other information,” a department press release stated.
Are you kidding me?
Fresno police routinely provide names and mugshots of suspected wrongdoers to local media, even though this practice disproportionately harms people of color and those with mental illness while perpetuating stereotypes about who commits crime in our community. (The Bee curtailed this practice in 2020.)
But now two (presumably) white men are allowed to impersonate federal agents and harass shoppers and store employees while maintaining their privacy?
That’s ridiculous.
The police’s reasoning is equally baffling. First of all, why assume the duo’s motive was as “innocent” as social media clout? It’s probably a lot more sinister than that.
Give imposters what they want
Second, if the intent of these two jerks was publicity, then why not give them the widespread notoriety they so badly desire?
The identities of these men should not be limited to like-minded individuals who inhabit the same online echo chambers. Their neighbors have a right to know who they are. So too do their employers, their fellow church-goers, their children’s teachers (provided pond scum can reproduce) and the people who exercise next to them at the gym.
Shielding criminals from facing the public consequences of their actions should not be a concern of law enforcement.
I asked Lt. Bill Dooley, the Fresno police spokesman, to ask who made the decision to conceal the identities of these two men and why an exception was made in this case.
Dooley replied the call was his, adding the department did not take booking photos of the suspects and “typically (doesn’t) push out any photos of misdemeanor crimes – only felonies.”
“Had we provided their names and photos (DMV photos would have been the only thing we could have posted), folks may have gone to their social media pages, upping their ‘views,’ ” he added.
That’s some rather specious logic.
Sadly and rather predictably, these sorts of stunts are becoming more commonplace following President Trump’s vow to implement the largest deportation effort in U.S. history.
Impersonating a law enforcement officer may only warrant a legal slap on the wrist. But Fresno police have no business shielding these imposters from the community judgment they so richly deserve.
