Have You Been Subjected to Misconduct from a Police Officer or Police Gang?

Lawmakers are responding to concerns over incidents such as the May 2020 killing of Floyd that occurred when a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest. The death led to international protests calling for police accountability and the for murder. Across the nation an outcry for more trust, more transparency and more accountability from police officers was requested.

Here in California, Governor Gavin Newsom has signed legislation creating a system to decertify peace officers for serious misconduct. The Governor also signed legislation increasing transparency of peace officer misconduct records, improving policing responsibility and accountability guidelines, raising eligibility standards and banning harmful restraint techniques.

This included bill AB 958, Gipson. Peace officers: law enforcement gangs. This bill states that it will define a law enforcement gang, a group of law enforcement officers within an agency that engages in a pattern of specified unlawful or unethical on-duty behavior, and would require law enforcement agencies to have a policy prohibiting law enforcement gangs and making participation, as specified, in a law enforcement gang grounds for termination.

Law enforcement gangs have been identified within California law enforcement agencies, undermining California’s movement to enhance professional standards of policing throughout the state. These law enforcement gangs have been recognized as damaging to the trust and reputation of law enforcement throughout California. Here are some key take-aways:

• A law enforcement gang is a group of law enforcement officers within an agency that engage in a pattern of rogue on-duty behavior that violates the law or fundamental principles of professional policing.

• Building and preserving trust between California communities and law enforcement agencies, and protecting the integrity of law enforcement as an institution will require agencies to proactively root out “bad apples” including those who participate, formally or informally, in this type of behavior.

• Law enforcement agencies must support and promote peer intervention in instances of officer misconduct, including reporting officers suspected of involvement in law enforcement gangs, and must hold those officers accountable through proportionate disciplinary measures when misconduct is proven.

• Trust between our communities and law enforcement is dependent on an institutional reconciliation of the historical traumas perpetrated by law enforcement gangs.

These items of misconduct are not being taken lightly. If you think you have been subjected to misconduct from a police officer or police gang, contact us at once for your free consultation. We are committed to providing the best criminal defense for you.