Amended bill would require state AG to investigate fatal police shootings

Legislation that would create a division within the California Department of Justice to investigate police use of force cases was amended late Tuesday for the third time in 12 days ahead of a legislative deadline, narrowing its scope to police shootings that result in the death of an unarmed civilian.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has been reluctant to intervene in local prosecutions of officers involved in these cases, as Assembly Bill 1506 would require. He opposed early versions of the bill, citing concerns that his office wouldn't be able to assume the investigative responsibilities of the state's nearly 400 local law enforcement agencies and 58 district attorneys.

"We are not equipped or resourced to take on this work on a routine basis," Becerra said in a letter to the bill's author, Assemblymember Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, earlier this month.

The bill was set to be heard on the Senate floor Wednesday morning, but a Senate staffer tested positive for COVID-19, canceling the session. A floor vote isn't expected until at least Friday because the amended version hasn't been in print for 72 hours.

Monday is the deadline for each house to pass bills.

Becerra and Solano County District Attorney Krishna Abrams for months now have tried to place the fatal Vallejo police shooting of Sean Monterrosa on each other's desks. A prosecutor has yet to take that case, highlighting what proponents of AB 1506 say is a poignant example of why an independent authority is needed to investigate police shootings.

"Police cannot police themselves without raising suspicion and distrust in the community," McCarty said in an interview Wednesday.

Early versions of the bill sought to require Becerra's office to investigate all police killings of unarmed civilians, as well as any fatal encounters requested by a county's board of supervisor, city councils, district attorneys or law enforcement agencies.

AB 1506 would now require Becerra to independently investigate only police shootings that result in the death of an unarmed civilian rather than all police killings. The bill would also require Becerra's office to operate a "police practices division" to review a law enforcement agency's use of deadly force policies and provide recommendations for change.

The last-minute amendments that reduce the scope of the bill appear to strike a balance between those who opposed and supported early iterations.

Some defense attorneys initially opposed AB 1506 unless law enforcement was completely removed from the investigation process. Organizations such as California Attorneys for Criminal Justice urged the Legislature to create an independent prosecutor's office to investigate police killings instead.

Eric Schweitzer, a private attorney in Fresno and the organization's president, said Wednesday the group now supports the bill as amended. But he said he hopes further legislation next year will establish what he calls a "well-defined and truly independent state police investigation and prosecution office."

Law enforcement unions initially supported the bill but opposed it when the second round of amendments was announced in the Senate Appropriations Committee last week.

McCarty said he spoke with Becerra Tuesday and said he believes he'll support of the re-worked bill.

A spokesperson for Becerra said he was reviewing the amendments but did not offer a new position on the bill.

The state Department of Finance originally estimated that the newly established division would cost $31.8 million in general fund dollars in 2020-21, and it would increase to roughly $80 million annually by 2023. However, that estimate pertained to the bill's early language that required the new division to investigate all use of force cases that resulted in a death.

McCarty said it's hard to say what the fiscal impact on the state would be with his narrowed version. He also said it now doesn't go as far as he would have wanted because Becerra would not be required to investigate and prosecute officers who are accused of unlawfully killing civilians by other means than shooting.

But he said it's a positive step that can be built upon in the future.