Gov. Gavin Newsom’s g Monday of the bill by Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, that decrees that police may use deadly force only when it is “necessary” to defend against the threat of serious injury or death to officers or the public is a huge moment for the criminal justice reform movement.
Kudos to Weber for her remarkable achievement. The old standard — allowing lethal force when it is “objectively reasonable” to ensure public safety — was too open to expansive interpretation.
But at a time when Democratic presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren are picking at old wounds with inflammatory, inaccurate claims about the 2014 Michael Brown case from Missouri, officers need to see the new law as constructive and positive — and not as a rebuke.
Similar policies in San Francisco, Stockton and Seattle have led to fewer injuries for both police and the public. And, as Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said, the new law “merely reinforces the training and good practices” that are already in place in his county and much of the state. That’s why law enforcement organizations dropped their opposition to the bill after some of its original language was modified.
Weber and other advocates of criminal justice reform can now turn their sights to bail and sentencing reform and to efforts to make prisons a place where individuals can develop the job and life skills they need to redeem themselves.
Achieving major changes may be difficult, but the cause is right. People who make huge mistakes can salvage their lives. They should be given that opportunity — not be thrown away.
