Sacramento City Leaders Vote To Adopt Changes On How Police Use Deadly Force
UPDATE: The use of force recommendation has passed, according to the city clerk.
Discussion Item 34, Sacramento Community Police Review Commission Use of Force Recommendation, is passed.
— Sacramento Clerk (@saccityclerk) May 5, 2021
SACRAMENTO (CBS13/AP) - Sacramento city leaders are discussing changes to the police department's use of force policy.
The proposal could go beyond state law by stating that deadly force should only be used as a last resort. The recommendation came from the Sacramento Community Police Review Commission.
The council is expected to vote tonight on whether or not to adopt the resolution.
The 11-member Commission was formed by the city council in November 2016 as part of a package of police reforms following a number of high-profile incidents.
The committee has no subpoena power and cannot investigate cases on its own. But they can make recommendations to the city council about changes in policy and policy implementation, with hopes to bridge the gaps.
With calls for police reforms across the U.S., instructors and researchers say officers lack sufficient training on how and when to use force, leaving them unprepared to handle tense situations. Better training can't fix all the issues facing the nation's police departments, but experts believe it would have a big impact.
Its two-year study of three large U.S. police academies says skills like using a baton or taking down an aggressive offender deteriorate dramatically within two weeks.
A recent Associated Press investigation found that a lack of firearms training has resulted in unintentional shootings by law enforcement.