Reform. Reallocate. Retrain.
The death of George Floyd and the police response to the ensuing demonstrations have highlighted the lack of police accountability across the United States. Since 2015, the police in the US have killed more than 1,600 unarmed people.
The police are a necessary part of an ordered society and we support them. However, they should be accountable for their actions. We want you to reform our local police force and make them accountable to the citizens of our community.
Experts in the field recommend a series of police reforms to increase accountability and reduce incidences of excessive use of force. Within the next three months we want you and our other elected leaders to review these options, develop a plan, and create a timeline to reform the police, reallocate resources, and retrain officers.
Reform.
- Reform the San Diego Police Officers Association.
- Create civilian oversight of officer discipline and remove discipline decisions in misconduct cases from the chain of command. Ensure that the new Commission on Police Practices has teeth and is not an ineffective smoke screen.
- Establish an independent prosecutor responsible for investigating instances of serious police misconduct.
Reallocate.
- Reverse the militarization of the police force. Reallocate funds to community organizations.
- Require all judgments against the City for police misconduct be paid directly from the budget of the police department.
Retrain.
- Require body-worn cameras and make footage of interactions public, subject to appropriate privacy restrictions. Discipline, and possibly terminate, any officer who does not activate her/his camera.
- Require officers to display proper identification and insignia at all times. Violations will result in disciplinary action and possible termination.
- Implement a zero-tolerance policy for abusive behavior.
- Provide police pay incentives for positive behaviors.
The status quo is not working. We are counting on you to change it.
