Mayor Darrell Steinberg Proposes List Of Reforms For Sacramento Police Department
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Mayor Darrell Steinberg released a list of reforms on Monday he'll be pushing for the Sacramento Police Department to undertake in the wake of the national unrest over the George Floyd.
Steinberg's reforms come on the same day that California's top law enforcement officer, Attorney General Xavier Becerra, also outlined nine changes he'd like to see with police departments.
Becerra called on California police departments to implement policies that would make the use of force be the last resort. His recommendations are similar to the "8 Can't Wait" campaign that is being called for on a national level.
The attorney general also added that he wants legislation passed to de-certify police officers for serious misconduct.
Steinberg's list of reforms includes creating an inspector general to independently investigate officer-involved shootings and deadly use-of-force cases. He also wants to change the types of calls police respond to — meaning officers wouldn't have to handle anything that doesn't involve a crime.
"Our first proposal is to change the long-standing practice that the police department exclusively investigates their own," Steinberg said.
He wants the inspector general to independently investigate officer-involved shootings. Additionally, he wants to invest $5 million from the city's general fund to create a new non-law enforcement responder unit to handle things like mental health calls.
"Our community is crying out for zero-tolerance police brutality and any form of racism," said Steinberg.
It would completely change the duties of Sacramento police officers, so they would no longer respond to calls that don't involve a crime.
"The mayor knows better," said Nia Mooreweathers with the Justice to Jobs Coalition. Mooreweathers says this policy doesn't go far enough and doesn't include enough input from the Black and Brown community.
"If we are going to reinvest money into Black and Brown communities, we need to talk to them about how we do that," Mooreweathers said.
Community leaders from Decarcerate Sacramento, are calling for major police reform.
"It's time for us to bust the doors wide open and make them hear us," said one speaker.
They're asking city leaders in Sacramento to defund the police department.
RELATED: Police Chief Responds To Sacramento Activists' Demand For Police Reform
The mayor has said he is against defunding the Sacramento Police Department entirely, refuting a common refrain from activists that has started to gain traction in recent weeks.
Sacramento Police Chief Daniel Hahn has also said defunding isn't possible, noting that the department was already short more than 100 officers
The proposals will be presented and discussed at the city council. The mayor says he wants these policies put into action as soon as possible.
