Police Accountability Bill Stalled – It's Time for Speaker Nunez to Speak Up

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Mark Schlosberg and Kate Kennedy

The significant and unwarranted force used by officers of the Los Angeles Police Department on May 1, 2007 at MacArthur Park has been widely reported. Demonstrators and members of the media were subjected to baton strikes and rubber bullet shots as police broke up a largely peaceful immigration rally. Unfortunately, the public will never learn which officers committed misconduct and what discipline, if any, they received because of the August 2006 California Supreme Court decision in Copley Press v. Superior Court.

Senator Gloria Romero’s (D-Los Angeles) SB 1019, which would overturn that decision and restore public access to police misconduct records, is stuck in committee. Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles) has made no effort to move the bill, and his leadership is needed in the face of strong police union pressure.

For the last 30 years, jurisdictions throughout the state have created processes for holding public hearings regarding police complaints and discipline. Openness and transparency are essential for building trust in a department and promoting police-community relations, especially for communities of color, immigrant communities and the LGBT community, all of which have historically born the brunt of police misconduct.