Governor Gavin Newsom of California signed a bill into law that targets cliques and gangs forming in law enforcement agencies. There had been gangs identified in those agencies in the time before the bill. Now, people in the groups may be either disciplined or terminated.
As per the bill, the groups have been spotted in the agencies of the state, undermining its movement to improve professional policing standards statewide. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department regards them as damaging gangs to the reputation and trust of California’s law enforcement.
The bill stipulates that there may be disciplinary action against any of these groups identifying themselves with symbols like identical tattoos and violating the fundamental professional policing principles or the law.
LA’s Sheriff Alex Villanueva supports the bill and said that it is in accordance with the policy that he implemented earlier this year. Back in February 2021, he implemented it after deputies let the public know about the cliques in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
As a proud sponsor of the law, Villanueva stated that it is formed on the basis of the LASD policy that he implemented earlier. He also said that it is not only in agreement with the new legislation but also being enforced. As for Villanueva, the law would serve to not only promote organizational change but also hold workers to higher standards of conduct. He also highlighted the importance of staying cautious about the benign subgroups devolving into the cliques that might dishonor the police badge.
Earlier, the deputy groups were charged with getting those tattoos as well as doing initiation things that might have harmed civilians. Activists have responded aggressively to the recent reports of LASD gangs. This explains why they launched a campaign on social media that read ‘Google LASD gangs’. The campaign has kept on going almost every day, and its slogan has been put in signs across Los Angeles.
Knock LA’s Cerise Castle also made a list of accused deputies related to internal gangs that is accessible to the public.
Senate Bill (SB) 2 is part of the law enforcement-associated bills that Governor Newsom ratified on the last day of September. The bill allows the decertification of officers for sexual assault, excessive force, dishonesty, or bias. It would keep officers declared guilty of misconduct from changing their departments as well.
The bill is named after Kenneth Ross Jr., whom a cop shot to death as he tried to escape from Gardena police. It was deemed a lawful shooting, but Gardena’s Assemblyperson bill presenter Steven Bradford blamed the cop for questionable Orange County shootings before his transfer to Gardena.
At the law ratification event, Bradford stated that he was unaware of the cop because of his transfer following those shootings in California’s Orange County. Senate Bill 2 being signed into law means that California is the 47th US state to allow decertifying a cop for misconduct.
Newsom described the ratification as a step toward justice and healing for everyone who died because of excessive police force and racial profiling. Newsom said while the past is unchangeable, it is possible to build accountability, fight institutional racism as well as find and remove racial injustice. Newsom also said that everyone is indebted to those family members who have continued the fight and worked toward a fairer future while persevering with grief.
