This post initially appeared in the Feb. 8 Sacramento Report. Get the Sacramento Report delivered to your inbox.
Assemblywoman Shirley Weber has unveiled the revamped version of her bill to change the standards under which police can deploy deadly force.
The bill would only permit the use of deadly force “when it is necessary to prevent imminent and serious bodily injury or death – that is, if, given the totality of the circumstances, there was no reasonable alternative to using deadly force, including warnings, verbal persuasion, or other nonlethal methods of resolution or de-escalation.”
This time around, however, the bill won’t just face opposition from law enforcement, it will face competition from law enforcement, which is offering its own far narrower bill.
Though Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins had said she would make passing Weber’s bill a priority, she seemed to express support for both measures this week.
“While these two pieces of legislation make their way through the process, I will continue to be engaged to find common ground,” Atkins told CALmatters in a statement.
I asked Atkins’ office for details on her efforts to advance Weber’s bill since it was held last session.
“Senate President pro Tem Atkins’ office facilitated a number of meeting with stakeholders,” Atkins spokeswoman Lizelda Lopez wrote in an email.
Meanwhile, police unions are busy fighting another measure too – and a San Diego judge temporarily blocked police misconduct records from being released as a result. The unions are challenging SB 1421, which went into effect Jan. 1, arguing it doesn’t allow the release of records created before that date. The law’s author has said it does.