California is one the four states that does not have a process to decertify police officers who are being charged with misconduct.
A bill passed by the CA legislature would initiate a decertification procedure.
Governor Gavin Newsom has twelve days to sign the bill or veto it.
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California's Assembly passed a bill to improve accountability in law enforcement.
Governor Gavin Newsom has 12 days to sign the bill or veto it. The bill passed the California Assembly by a vote 46-18 on Friday. It was originally passed by the California Senate on May 26, with a vote 26 to 9.
If the bill is signed into law, it will adjust qualified immunity, which protects state and local officials from personal liability, except when there is a clear violation to constitutional rights for law enforcement.
It would also establish a procedure by which officers accused of wrongdoing, including sexual assault, excessive force or perjury, are stripped of their badges.
After being defeated in California's legislature last year, the bill was revived by George Floyd protests.
California is one among four states that does not require a decertification process to police officers. This means officers who are convicted of a crime can still be employed in other departments.
State Sen. Toni Atkins co-authored the California bill. It is very similar to the Massachusetts decertification process, which was just made law in January 2021.
Insider was also informed by Sen. Steven Bradford that California is capable of revoke certifications or licenses of poor doctors, lawyers and barbers, but cannot decertify police officers who have violated the law and violated public trust."
The bill would require officers accused of misconduct to undergo fair review and then those who are convicted of a crime will be added to the National Decertification Index. They would be prohibited from working as law enforcement officers in states with a decertification process.
The bill's implications were very real for Bradford, a California representative from Gardena. California Senate Bill 2, also known as Kenneth Ross Jr. Decertification Act (California Senate Bill 2), was named after a 25 year-old Black man who was shot and killed by Gardena Police Officer Michael Robbins in April 2018.
Kenneth Ross Jr. was killed.
According to Jackie Lacey, then-District Attorney, police received several calls about a shooting at a Gardena building on Van Ness Ave. on Wednesday afternoon of 2018. One caller said that 20 shots had been fired. According to the report, the suspect was described by a Black man with locs close to El Segundo Blvd. and Van Ness Ave.
Sargent Michael Robbins was among the many officers who responded. Ross Jr. fled when officers shouted at him. Robbins fired two shots using an AR-15 rifle that was issued by the department as Ross Jr. ran away.
Fast two years later, video footage from dash and officer body cameras was released. His mother described the incident at several rallies. He was shot and killed by Robbins, his mother said. They still searched his body and handcuffed him.
In a press release, the Gardena Police Department stated that a gun was discovered on the scene and that he had fired a gun previously.
However, the Ross family attorney refutes this claim. They claimed he was carrying a gun. Haytham Faraj, a local news station KABC, said that they have video footage of the moment he fell. "They handcuff him and search him. They search him. They don't find anything."
Insider reached out to the Gardena Police Department for clarification.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office absolved Robbins of any wrongdoing in 2019. In a press release, the District Attorney's Office stated that Robbins had acted in self defense and to arrest a dangerous fleeing felon.
CapRadio was told by Bradford that Robbins had been an officer in Orange County and then joined the Gardena department. This claim was confirmed by Insider who cited local activists as supporting this bill.
Los Angeles activists and organizers are demanding justice
Sheila Bates is an organizer for the Los Angeles chapter Black Lives Matter. She told Insider that this bill will be brought back in the name of all those who have died.
Right, Pastor James Thomas is hugged following a speech at Black Lives Matter Los Angeles rally calling for justice in the death of KennethRoss Jr. who was killed by a Gardena officer in 2018. Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
According to Calmatters (a non-profit newsroom), 46% of California's police deaths are committed by Latinos.
Calmatters estimates that between 100-200 people are killed each year by law enforcement officers in California. According to KTLA, 885 people were killed by police in Los Angeles County since 2000. Most of them were Black or Latino. Los Angeles Times Homicide Report, a free tool that tracks and categorizes victims' deaths, estimates that 22 people were killed by law enforcement in Los Angeles County so far in 2021.
Albert Corado is a co-founder and candidate for People's City Council-LA District 13. He told Insider that he became abolitionist after his sister Mely Corado was murdered by the LAPD at Trader Joe's in Silver Lake, a Los Angeles neighborhood.
Corado stated to Insider that cops have qualified immunity so they can kill someone, do something and then move on to another department and move to another town to be employed as police officers.
The bill will decertify all convicted officers
The Kenneth Ross Jr. Decertification Act aims at strengthening law enforcement accountability.
Decertification would allow law enforcement officers convicted of misconduct, including sexual assault and excessive force, to be able to pursue their careers in law enforcement.
Under the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, the Peace Officer Standards Accountability Division would investigate "serious misconduct" that could lead to a suspension or revocation in a peace officer’s certification. The recommendation regarding the officer's certification would be made by an advisory board to POST. POST would then take the appropriate action.
Two Torrance police officers who had been fired last year were arrested for conspiracy and vandalism in an incident involving a spray-painted Swastika inside an impounded vehicle.
Insider was told by Bradford that these officers could be hired to another department without the need for a decertification and continue their racist and hateful conduct.
At a Black Lives Matter Los Angeles rally, people stand united in calling for justice in the 2018 shooting death of KennethRoss Jr. by a Gardena officer. Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Insider was told by Bates that it is crucial that a bill be passed to ensure that misconduct-prone officers are not able travel to other communities in another department to terrorize and murder people in that community.
What are the views of the bill's opponents?
Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officers and community members walk together during the Melrose Action National Night Out event on August 3, 2021 in Los Angeles. The event promoted police-community relations and LAPD officers led a one-mile Light The Night Safety Walk'. Mario Tama/Getty Images.
In 1967, qualified immunity was established by the Pierson v. Ray US Supreme Court decision. The court ruled that qualified immunity could be claimed by law enforcement officers as long as the misconduct was committed in good faith.
Qualified immunity critics claim that plaintiffs are unable to hold officers accountable for their misconduct. Bradford explained that this bill amends the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act 1987 to "make it easier to seek justice for a loved one if your civil rights were violated, or if you have falsely been arrested, framed, brutalized or denied medical aid."
It is supported by those who believe that qualified immunity allows officers the freedom to perform their duties without having to worry about individual lawsuits. Law enforcement groups are opposed to the section of the bill that changes qualified immunity.
"If this bill were just about decertification we'd probably not have any issue with it," Shaun Rundle (deputy director for the California Peace Offices' Association) told Spectrum News 1.
Brian Marvel, President of Peace Officers Research Association of California said that SB 2 goes beyond police licensing and includes policies that would be extremely burdensome for cities and counties that have peace officers.
The National Police Support Fund is a grassroots organization that supports police officers. They believe that qualified immunity is essential for their job.
The organization stated in an article posted on their website that qualified immunity was essential as homicides and other violent crimes continue rising across the country. This allows police to perform their duties without fear of being sued.
The National Police Support Fund stated that officers must be able to make mistakes and have bad judgement without fear of being sued.
Insider reached out and spoke to representatives from several California police departments, as well as legislators who declined to comment.
However, the Los Angeles DA's Office, currently run by George Gascn released a statement stating that it supported the bill.
Send tips to this reporter at tmitchell@insider.com or on Twitter @taiylersimone.
