SB 230: Requires police agencies to update force policies and training

Senate Bill 230, authored by Senator Anna Caballero and supported by law enforcement groups, imposes policy and training requirements for police agencies effective Jan. 1, 2021.

Police use of force policies must incorporate twenty specific items, including a "requirement that officers utilize de-escalation techniques, crisis intervention tactics, and other alternatives to force when feasible." De-escalation techniques are designed to minimize the likelihood of using force, and increase the likelihood of gaining voluntary compliance; crisis intervention tactics are similar techniques tailored to interactions with individuals with mental illnesses. Officers who do not employ them could face administrative discipline although not necessarily civil liability.

SB 230 also mandates that a police agency's policy include a "requirement that an officer may only use a level of force that they reasonably believe is proportional to the seriousness of the suspected offense or the reasonably perceived level of actual or threatened resistance." Many existing policies focus on what is reasonable to overcome resistance, but most do not make express reference to proportionality.

SB 230 requires that policies set forth "comprehensive and specific guidelines for the application of deadly force," while simultaneously recognizing that "no policy can anticipate every conceivable situation or exceptional circumstance which officers may face."

Similarly, agencies must update their policies to incorporate specific requirements pertaining to the use of firearms. First, policies must include guidelines regarding when officers may draw a firearm or point it at a person"; a requirement that, before discharging a firearm, an officer must consider the surroundings and risks to bystanders; and, limitations on when officers may fire at or from a moving vehicle. Additionally, the statute requires training and guidelines for interactions with vulnerable persons including children, elderly persons, people who are pregnant, and people with physical, mental and developmental disabilities.

SB 230 also requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) to provide courses for peace officers aimed at reducing the use of force, with emphasis on de-escalation, cultural competence and reduction of bias, and alternatives to use of physical force and deadly force. POST is also required to develop uniform, minimum guidelines for departments to use in developing their use of force policies.

Under SB 230, department policies also impose requirements on officers who are present for another officer's use of force, including informing supervisors when they observe force "beyond that which is necessary," and interceding when force is clearly excessive. Relatedly, polices must contain an "explicitly stated requirement that officers carry out duties, including use of force, in a manner that is fair and unbiased."

J. Scott Tiedemann is the managing partner of Liebert Cassidy Whitmore. Scott advises public safety agencies across California on a myriad of personnel issues, including internal affairs investigations, responding to a critical incident, the training standards set for peace officers by POST, and the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act (POBRA). Scott has advised public safety agencies in many high-profile matters involving alleged unreasonable or excessive use of force.