By Emeline Crowder
SACRAMENTO, CA – California Senate Bill 400—which is designed to increase law enforcement transparency—was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom this past week after receiving bipartisan support.
The measure, authored by Senator Aisha Wahab (D-Silicon Valley), authorizes law enforcement agencies to announce the cause of termination of a peace or custodial officer.
According to Sen. Wahab’s office, SB 400 was “developed in collaboration with the San Jose Police Department in response to a highly scrutinized situation in which they terminated an officer for engaging in an inappropriate sexual act while on the job.”
Wahab’s office added the San Jose Police Department was willing to disclose the reasoning for their decision, and the officer’s behavior was a disclosable incident of misconduct, but the department was unable to publicly disclose the reason for the officer’s termination without a Public Records Act request.
According to Wahab, who is also the Chair of the Senate Committee on Public Safety, “this law bolsters efforts for transparency and accountability in law enforcement and reinforces trust with the public.”
SB 400 was supported by various organizations such as the California Public Defenders Association, National Policy Accountability Project, San Francisco Public Defender and Smart Justice California.
(Correction: An original report inaccurately stated that Chief Mata supported the bill based on a press release from the Senator’s Office, that is not the case).
