Kudos to legislators on police Use of Force bill

The bill AB 392 Police Use of Force just passed the California Assembly and Senate, and the 5,200-member-strong Sonoma County Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union would like to express its appreciation to legislators Marc Levine and Bill Dodd for their Aye votes.

The bill’s premise is simple: it updates California’s use of force laws to make sure that police officers avoid using deadly force at every possible opportunity, privileging de-escalation measures, and other steps. Police should never take a human life when they have alternatives. Right now, police officers in California can use deadly force and kill someone even when they have other options. In 2017 alone, police officers killed 172 Californians, 37% higher than the national average.

This policy is in force elsewhere and has led to a decline in serious use of force without any negative impact on officer or public safety.

Together with the recently-introduced law on Transparency in Police Records, AB 392 signals a long-needed improvement in our State’s protection of civil rights and liberties.

The Sonoma County Chapter of the ACLU of Northern California salutes our local Sacramento lawmakers for their sensitivity to civil rights, the safety of our communities, and to the professionalism and welfare of our police officers.

— Patty Morandi, co-chair, ACLU Sonoma County