Support SB 1286 to shed light on police misconduct and use of force

We Have a Right to Know

Did you know that California law requires that police departments keep all information related to officer misconduct a secret? Even if a police officer is, for example, found by their own department to have committed sexual misconduct involving a member of the public while on the job, or found to have planted evidence. You will never even know if the officer was disciplined or what that discipline was. The same goes for internal investigations into police shootings and other uses of force.

Email your legislator: demand answers to police misconduct.

Sure, the department might tell you if that officer was found to be in compliance with the department's use of force policy. But that's it. In fact, the law prohibits them from sharing anything else, even if they want to. Instead, the public and victims' families are expected to blindly trust that the police are capable of policing themselves and of holding officers accountable for their actions.

It's time police departments earn our trust.

You and I both know that isn't always the case. We've seen and heard far too many stories of people – especially people of color and other vulnerable members of the community – being mistreated and brutalized by police officers with impunity. Mario Woods, Charly "Africa" Keunang, Alex Nieto, and Fridoon Nehad. We know their names and that they died at the hands of the police, but what we don't know is how police departments handled the internal investigations into their shootings.

That's why the ACLU and our partners are supporting a bill that would lift this veil of police secrecy. SB 1286 was introduced by state Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) to bring transparency to how police officers – public servants – use and abuse their power in California. This would also ensure that police department standards on use of force align with the values of the communities they're policing.

A recent poll found that almost 80 percent of Californians think the public should have access to findings of confirmed police misconduct. Are you one of them?

Take action now.