The toy company Lego asked a Southern California police department to refrain from using the company's toy heads to hide the identities of suspects in photos shared on social media.
The Murrieta Police Department began using Lego heads to cover people's faces in November 2022. The edited photos drew attention last week after the department posted a statement titled "Why the covered faces?" on Facebook.
The online images prompted Lego to contact the police department on March 19.
Lego "respectfully asked us to refrain from using their intellectual property in our social media content, which, of course, we understand and will comply with," Lt. Jeremy Durrant said in a statement to The Associated Press.
"We are currently exploring other methods to continue publishing our content in a way that is engaging and interesting to our followers," Durrant added.
Lego did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The police department protects suspects' identities in accordance with the law but uploads photos of their faces covered to openly share what is happening in the city.
“The Murrieta Police Department prides itself in its transparency with the community, but also honors everyone’s rights & protections as afforded by law; even suspects,” it wrote on Facebook.
The California Legislature amended Penal Code 13665 in July 2021 to prohibit law enforcement agencies from sharing photos of suspects arrested in nonviolent crimes.
In addition, the state passed Assembly Bill 994 last September, requiring agencies to remove suspect mug shots from social media after 14 days unless there are special circumstances.
The law went into effect in January, according to the police department.