GARDENA, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed eight bills Thursday, Sept. 30, focusing on policing reform.
Those bills include requiring officers to intervene when another officer uses excessive force, a process to decertify peace officers for serious misconduct and banning certain restraints.
“We have work to do. Just because you sign a piece of legislation doesn't change things fundamentally, it’s the application. Program passing is not problem-solving," Newsom said.
The 'George Floyd Bill,' authored by Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena), requires and outlines techniques for officers to intervene when witnessing another officer using excessive force.
“Derek Chauvin was charged for killing George Floyd, but justice for George Floyd doesn’t rest in Chauvin’s conviction alone – there were three additional officers simply stood by and watched him die,” Holden said.
Holden said that an officer who fails to intervene could be disciplined in the same way as the officer who used excessive force.
“That final point is critical because it means that once Senator Steve Bradford's Police decertification bill is signed, a peace officer could have their certification revoked if they don’t intervene," Holden said.
State Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) authored a bill known as the 'Kenneth Ross Jr.' initiative, which allows California to decertify police officers for misconduct. Kenneth Ross Jr. was killed April 11, 2018, while running past Rowley Park. Gardena Police Officer Michael Robbins was cleared of any wrongdoing in the incident, but criminal justice reform advocates asked for more police accountability, pointing out this was Robbins' fourth shooting.
At the time, California was one of only four states in the county without the ability to decertify police officers.
“Many times it says black and brown people hate the police. We don’t hate the police; we fear the police," Bradford said. "We fear the police due to a lack of trust. This should help establish trust. No one should fear the police when they call 911 or encounter an officer.”
The family of Sean Monterrosa, a Vallejo man who was killed in June 2020 by police who said they mistook a hammer in his waistband for a handgun, responded to the decertification bill's signing in a statement.
"Together with the passage of AB 89, our state is finally making real steps towards accountability and transparency in policing. Our family and every family who has suffered at the hands of police deserves nothing less," the Monterrosa family wrote in a statement.
California Attorney General Rob Banta said these bills will help the criminal justice system be more transparent and accountable.
“We are in a crisis of trust when it comes to law enforcement right now across the state, across the nation," Bonta said. "We need more tools, better tools to create more transparency, more oversight and more accountability."
Newsom also signed a bill authored by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) that regulates using rubber bullets and tear gas for crowd control.
"This law will protect Californians’ right to safely protest without risking permanent or life-threatening injuries," Gonzalez said in a press release.
Newsom said these bills were not created in a vacuum, but rather in collaboration with many representatives.
“Today marks another step toward healing and justice for all,” Newsom said in a press release. “Too many lives have been lost due to racial profiling and excessive use of force. We cannot change what is past, but we can build accountability, root out racial injustice and fight systemic racism. We are all indebted to the families who have persevered through their grief to continue this fight and work toward a more just future.”
Some of the other bills Newsom signed include banning officers from using restraints that prevent someone from breathing, similar to those used in George Floyd's death, and raising the minimum age of a peace officer to 21 years old.
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