New Rules Agreement in California: NPR

Civil rights advocates and law enforcement groups have reached an agreement in the California Legislature on new rules for cases in which police may use force deadly.

This issue has been the focus of many social justice advocates in California this spring, after the Sacramento General Counsel refused to sue the police who shot and killed Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man whose death had caused headlines and demonstrations across the country.

Under the agreement made public on Thursday, officers will only be able to use lethal force when it will be "necessary" and if there are no other options.

This is widely perceived as being superior to the legal norm in force, namely that the use of lethal force is legal if a "reasonable" agent would have acted in the same way in this situation.

However, the wording of the bill leaves out a specific definition of the word "necessary", which would leave the legal system with case-by-case interpretation.

The measure should now be adopted before next week.

"We can now move forward with a policy that will save lives and change the culture of law enforcement in California," wrote Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, who introduced the bill in a statement. a statement.

The forces of order have abandoned their opposition and are now neutral on the bill. "We appreciate your concern and thank you and your staff for working with the CPCA on this critical issue," the California Police Chiefs Association wrote in a letter to Weber on Thursday.

The American Civil Liberties Union, one of the leading lawyers who helped negotiate the bill, praised the deal. "If this bill is passed and signed by the governor, California will have one of the most restrictive laws on the use of force in the country – if not the most restrictive," said Lizzie Buchen, of the ACLU .

The proposed law also states that the conduct of an officer leading to the shooting will be taken into account – but the behavior of the suspect will also be taken into account. And there are terms in the bill that require the police to use other solutions, such as de-escalation or "less lethal" options, before resorting to deadly force. But these requirements are a statement of intent, not a specific checklist.

"The general idea is this: we want the police to check if they can avoid this fatal encounter," said Robert Weisberg, a professor of criminal law at Stanford Law School.

He said the agreement reached by both parties represented the middle ground he suspected he was reaching.

He added that the definition of the new "standard" "necessary" would be very, very difficult for the courts "- and for the agents as well.

For example, an officer can guess his decisions. "If I let this person go, what is the risk?", Said Weisberg about an officer's thinking process. "Of course, I'm legally allowed to restrain him, and I might fear that he's committing another crime, but make a compromise here, if I persist in my arrest, it could escalate into a fatal thing."

The agreement also includes a support bill backed by law enforcement agencies that establishes new state – wide "best practices" and training on how to deal with them. standards for the use of force. The state budget being negotiated should provide new funding to finance this training.

The two sides are negotiating since the failure of a previous bill on the use of force last summer. Senate Speaker Tem Toni Atkins summoned them to the bargaining table in the following months. Discussions were interrupted in February, with each party submitting its own measure. But they have resumed in recent weeks as it became clear that neither of the two bills had the support needed to be adopted alone.

Atkins says she's committed to her colleague Weber not to stop working on the law on the use of force. "We spent countless hours from the end of the session last year until today, bringing together the different groups so that we can begin the difficult discussions needed to achieve a negotiated agreement, "she said. "Doing nothing was not an option."

It took active involvement of the Atkins office, as well as those of Assembly President Anthony Rendon and Governor Gavin Newsom to secure the agreement. Atkins and Rendon are now co-authors of AB 392.

"This is an important bill that will help restore community confidence in our criminal justice system," the governor said in a statement.

Rendon praised Weber's moral strength for moving the bill forward on this point. "We need this resolution to save lives, protect public safety and ensure justice in every community," he wrote.

The bill may still receive minor amendments to the Senate, but the agreement reached on Thursday is considered by all parties as the final framework – and not as a step-by-step agreement to move the bill forward for future debate. .