A controversial legislative proposal to limit when police can use deadly force in California will not move forward this session, the Sacramento Bee reports. Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins and Assemblywoman Shirley Weber said they would continue discussions in the fall. “Make no mistake: we have a critical problem that remains unaddressed. We need to end preventable deaths and to do so without jeopardizing the safety of law enforcement officers,” Atkins said, citing a lack of time to resolve concerns over the bill this year.
The measure would have raised the state standard for using lethal force from “reasonable” — when a reasonable officer in similar circumstances would have acted the same way — to “necessary,” when there are no alternatives for police to consider in that situation. The bill was proposed after the March police shooting in Sacramento of Stephon Clark, who was killed after running from law enforcement after breaking into cars.
When confronted, Clark was shot by officers after he turned towards them, in a shooting stance, and pointed a cell phone at officers. Law enforcement has opposed the bill, arguing that it would pose a threat to officers’ lives by causing them to second-guess their actions.
Travis Yates is the Director of Training with SAFETAC Training. He calls the delay in the bill a smart and necessary decision to remove emotion from a very important topic. According to Yates, “the United States Supreme Court has weighed in numerous times on this issue and existing case law places the parameters on law enforcement in a well balanced and appropriate way. The idea that politicians in California think they know more should be a scary idea to anyone that believes in protecting law enforcement and the citizens that they serve.”
