Pacific Palisades Democratic Club Resolution of Support for SB-2

Whereas, the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer has raised public awareness of the fear that millions of Black citizens feel when in contact with law enforcement;

Whereas, Black Americans are killed at 2.6 times the rate of white people in police shootings; are 2.5 times more likely than white men to be killed by police; and are more often stopped by the police, who use force disproportionately against them, as compared to other racial groups; 

Whereas, bias in administrative police records has resulted in the level of racial bias in policing to be underestimated or has even masked discrimination entirely;

Whereas, police officers fired for misconduct are frequently rehired;

Whereas, California is one of only four states lacking a process to decertify police officers who abuse their power or engage in serious misconduct;

Whereas, doctors, lawyers, contractors and other professionals must be licensed or certified by the State of California, but law enforcement officers are not required to meet any professional standards, despite being entrusted with extraordinary powers including the power to carry and use firearms, to stop and search, to arrest, and to use force;

Whereas, law enforcement officers who abuse their authority by committing serious or repeated misconduct, or otherwise demonstrate a lack of fitness to serve as peace officers, are too often not held accountable;

Whereas, the Pacific Palisades Democratic Club believes that quality professional police work is vital to California, the City of Los Angeles, and people of all races and backgrounds and when police officers work with their communities and community organizations violence can be reduced;

Whereas, SB 2 creates the Peace Officer Standards Accountability Division within the California Peace Officer Standard and Training Board that would establish standards for serious misconduct; decertify peace officers who have committed serious misconduct; and require law enforcement agencies to employ only those police officers with current, valid certification or pending certification;

THEREFORE, BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED THAT:

The Pacific Palisades Democratic Club endorses and supports SB-2 as passed by the California State Senate on June 3, 2021;
Urges our Assemblymember, Richard Bloom, and all members of the Assembly to vote for this bill; and
Respectfully requests that Governor Newsom sign this legislation into law.

1 Lett E, Asabor EN, Corbin T, et al, Racial inequity in fatal US police shootings, 2015–2020, J Epidemiol Community Health 2021;75:394-397.

2 Edwards, F., Hedwig, L. & Esposito, M. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 116, 16793-16798 (2019).

3 https://openjustice.doj.ca.gov/exploration/stop-data

4 Knox, D., Lowe, W. & Mummolo, J. Am. Polit. Sci. Rev. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055420000039 (2020).

5 An investigation of public records from Florida showed that about 3% of that state’s police force had previously been fired or had resigned in lieu of being dismissed.Grunwald, B. & Rappaport, J. Yale Law J. 129, 6 (2020).