Crime

Law Would Allow Public to View Records of Police Misconduct

Published

10 years ago

February 22, 2016

In an effort to improve transparency, accountability and trust between law enforcement and the public, CA Senator Mark Leno has introduced SB 1286, a bill allowing greater public access to peace officer records related to serious uses of force and sustained charges of misconduct.

Assemblymember Mark Leno. Photo by Luke Thomas.

“California is behind the times when it comes to providing transparency in law enforcement records,” said Senator Leno, D-San Francisco.

“The public has a right to know when officers apply deadly force and when serious cases of misconduct have been confirmed,” he said. ”Failing to disclose such important information can fuel mistrust within our communities and threaten public safety.”

While California statutes and case law prevent the disclosure of most peace officer records, states such as Texas, Kentucky, Utah, and several others, make information available to the public when an allegation of misconduct has been confirmed.

At least 10 other states, including Florida, Ohio and Washington, also make these same records public regardless of whether the incident has been confirmed.

“California is among a minority of states that makes police disciplinary records confidential,” said San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón. “If the public can’t determine whether an officer has been disciplined they can’t assess if accountability mechanisms are working.”

A recent Pew Research Center poll found that only 30 percent of Americans, and just 10 percent of African Americans, believe law enforcement agencies are doing a good or excellent job of holding officers accountable for misconduct.

Separate polling data shows that nearly 80 percent of Californians believe the public should have access to the findings of police misconduct.

“Police can’t earn the public’s trust when there is a wall of secrecy shielding how departments address misconduct and when they allow officers to use deadly force,” said Peter Bibring, director of police practices for the American Civil Liberties Union of California. “Providing greater transparency in state law is crucial to holding police accountable to the communities they serve, which is an important first step in improving public trust – particularly with communities of color.”

In addition to increasing access to records related to uses of force and confirmed misconduct, SB 1286 gives residents who file complaints alleging misconduct access to information related to those complaints.

The bill also allows local governments to determine whether public hearings and administrative appeals should be held on allegations of peace officer misconduct. Additionally, it aims to balance the needs of public disclosure and individual privacy by allowing courts to withhold records if there is a risk or danger to an officer or another person.

Alice Huffman

“We are still at the back of the bus in areas of criminal justice,” said Alice A. Huffman, president of the California-Hawaii State Conference of NAACP.

“Every day we are still being victimized,” she said. “Police misconduct and racial injustice is at an all-time high in our country and one has to wonder just what did the civil rights movement accomplish. That’s why the California-Hawaii State Conference of the NAACP stands with Senator Leno on this very timely bill.”

“This bill will allow Californians to see how law enforcement agencies handle confirmed cases of misconduct and help eliminate the public’s doubts and suspicions that have recently plagued the state’s law enforcement agencies,” said Jim Ewert, general counsel of the California Newspaper Publishers Association.

SB 1286 will be heard in Senate policy committees this spring.

San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi supports the bill.

The Conference of California Bar Associations (CCBA) also backed the Leno’s measure.

“Current law, as interpreted by the Copley Press decision, prevents the public from knowing the depth and extent of misconduct and discipline of police and correctional officers,” said Larry Doyle, Legislative Representative for CCBA.

“This undermines public efforts to achieve police accountability and to deter future misconduct,” he said. “But it also undermines public trust in law enforcement by perpetuating the belief that misconduct is so pervasive that it must be completely shielded from the public eyes.”

Oakland Post

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Activism

After Don Lemon’s Arrest, Black Officials Raise Concerns About Independent Black Media

Elected leaders joining the call included U.S. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA-37), Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell (2nd District), Assemblymembers Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood), Mike Gipson (D-Carson), and Sade Elhawary (D-Los Angeles), and State Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-Los Angeles). While the meeting was prompted by Lemon’s arrest, the discussion quickly moved beyond him, turning to growing concerns about the vulnerability of Black journalists covering protests and dissent.

Published

22 hours ago

February 9, 2026

Oakland Post

Don Lemon. Shutterstock.

By Joe W. Bowers Jr., California Black Media

On Jan. 30, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass attended independent journalist Don Lemon’s federal court appearance at the Edward R. Roybal Federal Courthouse following his arrest in Los Angeles by federal authorities for conduct tied to his reporting on a protest nearly 2,000 miles away in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Shortly afterward, Bass convened a Zoom roundtable of Black elected leaders, city officials, and journalists to discuss what the case signaled — not just for Lemon, but for journalism more broadly.

While Lemon was being arrested, Georgia Fort, an award-winning Minneapolis journalist, was also arrested and charged in connection with her coverage of the protest inside the Cities Church in St. Paul reportedly targeted because a pastor worked as field director for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Both Fort and Lemon have said they were reporting.

However, prosecutors allege conspiracy and violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act — a federal law that prohibits force, threats, or obstruction at reproductive health facilities and places of worship.

In a public statement issued after the arrest, Bass said the case “is about the First Amendment and the right of journalists to do their jobs without fear of intimidation or retaliation,” adding that journalists “must be able to cover events of public concern without being treated as criminals.”

That framing set the tone for the Zoom discussion. Participants raised concerns that Lemon’s speech and presence were being used to transform journalistic activity into evidence of criminal intent. Several warned that such an approach places journalists working outside major institutions at heightened risk.

Kamlager-Dove said the arrests cut to the heart of democratic accountability.

“Journalists must be able to report on protests, government actions, and civil rights issues without fear of arrest or retaliation,” she said. “When reporters are targeted for doing their jobs, it threatens the public’s right to know and undermines our democracy.”

As the discussion continued, the roundtable’s participants also made clear why Fort’s arrest mattered. Unlike Lemon, she is not a national television figure, a distinction participants said shows how independent journalists without major institutional backing are often the most vulnerable.

McKinnor said that reality cannot be ignored. “Black journalists have long played a critical role in documenting what others overlook or avoid,” she said. “When reporters are arrested for covering protests, it sends a message that truth-telling itself is being criminalized.”

Participants noted that the Minnesota protest space was multiracial, yet Black journalists were among those arrested — a pattern several described as familiar when Black reporters cover protests, immigration enforcement, policing, or civil rights issues.

Smallwood-Cuevas called the arrests “deeply troubling” and warned that “when journalists are arrested for documenting protests, it sends a chilling message not just to the press, but to the public.”