To: The California State House, The California State Senate, and Governor Gavin Newsom
Tell CA lawmakers: End "shoot first" policing
The days of "shoot first, ask questions later" policing must end. I demand real change to California's use of force standard: police officers should use deadly force only when absolutely necessary. Pass AB 392 by Asm. Weber and defeat SB 290 by Sen. Caballero.
Why is this important?
It's the same story all around the country. Police officers shoot first and ask questions later. Then, when the public demands accountability for their recklessness, they get off scot-free.
A new California bill aims to change the status quo by allowing police officers to use deadly force only as a last resort. If it passes, it could transform policing in California and set an example for the rest of the country.
But California police unions are doing everything in their power to preserve the status quo and stop the bill, AB 392 by Assemblymember Shirley Weber. They've even recruited a member of California's Senate, Senator Ana Caballero, to sponsor a competing bill, SB 290.
The police unions say that SB 290 is a compromise bill. The reality is that it would not force police departments to change their use of force policies at all. Police officers would still be allowed to get away with murder.
Just in the past several weeks, we've seen trigger-happy police officers get away with murder over and over again. The Pittsburgh officer who shot an unarmed teenager named Antwon Rose in the back was recently acquitted. And Sacramento prosecutors announced that they will not even bring charges against the officer who shot an unarmed black man, Stephon Clark, in the back as he was fleeing.
If the law allows California police officers to get away with shooting unarmed people in the back, that law is immoral and must be changed. Police unions opposing reform are a powerful lobby in California politics. But lawmakers are ultimately accountable to the people they represent. If California voters and supporters from around the country demand change, we can deal the police unions a major defeat and get the accountable policing our communities deserve.
A new California bill aims to change the status quo by allowing police officers to use deadly force only as a last resort. If it passes, it could transform policing in California and set an example for the rest of the country.
But California police unions are doing everything in their power to preserve the status quo and stop the bill, AB 392 by Assemblymember Shirley Weber. They've even recruited a member of California's Senate, Senator Ana Caballero, to sponsor a competing bill, SB 290.
The police unions say that SB 290 is a compromise bill. The reality is that it would not force police departments to change their use of force policies at all. Police officers would still be allowed to get away with murder.
Just in the past several weeks, we've seen trigger-happy police officers get away with murder over and over again. The Pittsburgh officer who shot an unarmed teenager named Antwon Rose in the back was recently acquitted. And Sacramento prosecutors announced that they will not even bring charges against the officer who shot an unarmed black man, Stephon Clark, in the back as he was fleeing.
If the law allows California police officers to get away with shooting unarmed people in the back, that law is immoral and must be changed. Police unions opposing reform are a powerful lobby in California politics. But lawmakers are ultimately accountable to the people they represent. If California voters and supporters from around the country demand change, we can deal the police unions a major defeat and get the accountable policing our communities deserve.