Governor Gavin Newsom Tuesday released a report with recommendations from his administration's advisors on policing practices. Those recommendations address police responses to protests and demonstrations. The report recommendations come after the Governor signed several legislative bills last month to reform policing practices and deal with what he sees as discrimination in the State's criminal and juvenile justice systems.
The Governor is also directing his Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to modernize training and guidance for law enforcement to ensure that it prioritizes the protection of First Amendment rights and to develop best practices for law enforcement to identify, monitor, and strategically arrest people suspected of inciting or participating in violence and destruction during protests and demonstrations.
Among other things, the report encourages law enforcement agencies to require all officers directly involved with demonstrators and protestors to wear and activate body cameras. Also recommended is the assurance by police and other law enforcement that journalists and legal observers will not be targeted for arrest and that any subversion of protests by hate groups will be investigated. Finally, the recommendations propose restrictions on the types of weapons and tactics that should be used during protests and demonstrations.
"The role of police officers in protests and demonstrations is to keep the peace, and facilitate the ability of protesters to demonstrate peacefully without infringing on their First Amendment rights," said Governor Newsom. "Implementation of these recommendations will help ensure our law enforcement agencies are better equipped to respond safely to protests and demonstrations and reinforce the values of community partnership, de-escalation, and restraint."
The Governor's policing advisors are Ron Davis, a former East Palo Alto police chief who also served as the head of the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services during the Obama Administration, and Lateefah Simon, a current director and president of BART and president of the Akonadi Foundation.
"Dissent and protests are as American as apple pie. The right to peacefully assemble is a fundamental one that we hold dear," said Ms. Simon. "This moment of national reckoning on racial justice will be defined by the impassioned voices for reform and leaders who respond courageously. I applaud Governor Newsom for working to protect our First Amendment rights and his commitment to moving California forward."
Governor Newsom held meetings across the state with faith and community leaders, elected officials, and small business owners following the May death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Those meetings included discussion about racism, systemic injustice, and how those concerns can best be addressed in California. The Governor also directed the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to stop training police officers on the carotid hold.