California Police Chiefs Rail Against Possible Changes To 'Use Of Force' Rules

FAIRFIELD (CBS13) – There's new pushback from the California Police Chief's Association against possible changes at the State Capitol to "use of force" rules across the state.

The proposed changes come in the aftermath of the Stephon Clark shooting.

Police chiefs from across Northern California came together on Monday to oppose a proposed bill to raise the standard for legal review of California officers in deadly use of force investigations.

"We find ourselves dumbfounded that legislation of this magnitude was introduced without consulting law enforcement stakeholders," said California Police Chiefs Association President David Swing.

Current California law allows officers to use "reasonable" force against a suspect.

The proposed legislation would change that to "necessary" force.

"And the concern of 'necessary' is that the police that are sworn to protect and serve the community are going to be expected to exhaust all possible alternatives in hindsight — that's unreasonable," said Vacaville Police Chief John Carli.

The new legislation was announced in early April with Stephon Clark's family standing beside the lawmakers writing the bill.

"This law, we think will help prevent needless loss of life," said Assemblyman Kevin McCarty of Sacramento.

The bill is expected to be published sometime next week. It is set to head to the Senate Public Safety Committee first.