During the August 26, 2020, Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Zoom meeting, the Commission discussed the impacts of Senate Bill 731 (Bradford). SB 731 as currently drafted empanels a Board to review peace officer misconduct under the supervision of the POST Commission. While a decertification process is broadly supported by law enforcement, SB 731 contains several controversial provisions that violate long standing principals of due process, fairness, and impartiality.
David E. Mastagni testified against the Bill at today’s hearing, expressing support a fair decertification process, but pointing out the flaws infecting this legislation. For instance, the details of the revocation procedure represent a stark departure from the decertification procedures utilized in other states, such as Florida and Georgia. SB 731 subjects officers to double jeopardy and potential inconsistent determinations. The sweeping scope of the investigative Board’s authority is not even constrained by a finding of innocence by the employing agency or the court determinations overturning Agency findings of misconduct.
The Board must be comprised of a majority of individuals with no expertise in police practices or use of force, and who lack impartiality. For example, the Board must include a person or surviving family member of a person subjected to wrongful use of force likely to cause death or serious bodily injury by a peace officer and four (4) members who are members of community-based organizations on issues related to police misconduct or of non-profits working on police misconduct issues. Under the rule of law, impartiality is required of those vested with authority to determine a person’s fate or livelihood. The ability of this Board to be objective, uninfluenced by emotion or surmise, and not to prejudge an investigation based on personal experiences is questionable at best. Moreover, officers have no POBR rights under the POST process and are entitled only to a “review” of it determination. Similarly, the POST Commission is stripped of meaningful oversights, as the Bill mandates the Commission “shall adopt the board’s recommendation unless it is without a reasonable basis.”
During today’s POST meeting, Executive Director Alvarez explained that investigations and decertification would require a major expansion of POST infrastructure.
Director Alvarez expects that this major expansion would require POST to more than double its staff size and open two new offices in Southern California and the Bay Area. The staffing and buildings alone were estimated to cost $40 million dollars. The staff and location increases are expected because the certification program would require a new platform to collect misconduct complaints and secure information obtained during the investigations. One Commissioner mentioned that this estimate doesn’t even account for the huge legal costs associated with this type of certification system.
The Commission expected time for a transition because a budget increase this large would require approval by the Senate Appropriations Committee. However, during a concurrent Senate Public Safety Committee meeting, SB 731 was not sent to the appropriations committee despite the legislation exceeding the threshold for spending without approval by the appropriations committee.
Law Enforcement supports a decertification process which strikes the proper balance by holding bad officers accountable while maintaining fundamental principles of due process and fairness. After working for months to establish such a licensing system, law enforcement was very disappointed to see the newest version of the bill which eliminated meaningful due process and fairness. Notably, at the Judiciary hearing today, several of the Assembly Members who voted for the Bill expressed grave reservations and asked Senator Bradford to consider further amendments to address their concerns.
