California law enforcement uses Lego heads in photos of suspects
The Murrieta Police Department in California has overlapped suspects' faces with Lego heads in photographs captured during arrests and booking processes.
10:41 AM EDT, March 20, 2024
On Monday, the Murrieta Police Department clarified that using Lego faces on suspects' images is a measure to adhere to state legislation that forbids law enforcement from posting social media images of individuals arrested for nonviolent offenses.
Police said images of suspects involved in nonviolent crimes are prohibited from being shared, barring specific circumstances, citing Assembly Bill 994 and Penal Code 13665.
"The Murrieta Police Department prides itself on its transparency with the community, but also honors everyone’s rights & protections as afforded by law; even suspects," the department said in a Facebook post.
The Police Department added, "In order to share what is happening in Murrieta, we chose to cover the faces of suspects to protect their identity while still aligning with the new law."
According to Fox News, the department stated in November that it decided against publishing images of arrested individuals, citing several reasons, including the principle of presumed innocence and the potential impact such posts could have on the individuals or their families.
Source: Murrieta Police Department, Fox News
