Bill would allow assault victims more time to file suits

Those sexually assaulted by police officers would have extra time to seek justice against abusers

Partly inspired by an investigation by the Bay Area News Group, East Bay Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks has proposed giving victims of sexual assault committed by law enforcement officers more time to file a civil lawsuit and seek justice against their abusers.

Introduced last week, Assembly Bill 1455 is intended to create a more “even playing field” and lessen the intimidation sexual assault survivors face when their attacker is in a position of power, Wicks said in an interview Wednesday.

The bill is similar to legislation authored by Wicks and signed into law last year extending statutes of limitations on civil actions for people sexually assaulted at University of California medical clinics.

“It’s scary for any sex-assault survivor to seek recourse against their perpetrator in any situation and I think even more difficult if the person who perpetrated the crime is a law enforcement official,” Wicks said in a phone interview. “There’s a power dynamic involved. The goal is to level the imbalance of power and give victims more time.”

The “Statute of Limitations: Sexual Assault by Law Enforcement Officers” bill would extend the window of time to sue to within 10 years of the last date the alleged perpetrator was employed as a law enforcement officer, or within 10 years from the date of conviction, whichever is later.

Currently under state law, the statute of limitations for adult sexual assault

victims to file civil claims is 10 years from the date of the last act or attempted act, or within three years from the date the victim discovers an injury or illness. Wicks’ proposed bill applies to instances of sexual assault while an officer “was on duty, in uniform, or armed.”

Wicks cited the “California Criminal Cops” series by the Bay Area News Group and other news outlets as bringing into focus the issue of sexual assault committed by police officers. The investigative series found that more than 600 California police officers over the past decade were convicted of crimes ranging from DUI to domestic violence, cheating on time cards to killing others while driving recklessly.

More than 50 cases reviewed involved forcible sex offenses.

The assemblywoman singled out the case of Officer Noah Winchester, who was convicted and sentenced to prison for sexually assaulting five women while on duty, both in San Mateo and Sacramento, where he worked as a community college district police officer.

“He went from agency to agency, he stalked his victims, used his position of power to not only commit sexual assault, but use it as an advantage in the situation. It’s horrifying,” Wicks said. “The vast majority of law enforcement officers are not sexual abusers but you do have cases where it does exist. What this bill will do is give the victims more power and more agency as they seek the recourse they are owed.”

The 2019 series, Wicks said, “unearthed things we as lawmakers have to address. This is one piece of larger reforms we are debating in the legislature.”

Nearly one out of five officers in the review of court records are still working in law enforcement or kept their jobs for more than a year after sentencing, the investigation found. California is one of five states that doesn’t “decertify” officers or strip them of a license to work in law enforcement as a result of misconduct. In December, two Southern California state senators introduced a “decertify” bill, Senate Bill 2.

State Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, has re-introduced

Senate Bill 16 to widen the landmark policetransparency law, SB 1421, to expand the types of useof-force-cases that would mandate disclosure to broadly cover force deemed “unreasonable or excess” and sustained cases where officers engaged in racist or biased conduct.

Last February, state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, introduced SB 271, to allow all registered voters the ability to run for sheriff, diversifying the candidate pool. Only state certified law enforcement officers are eligible to run for the elected seats.

In September, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 3092, Wicks’ bill that gave sexual assault victims additional time to file civil actions against former UCLA doctor James Heaps. More than 200 women accused the gynecologist of sexual assault and sexual misconduct, occurring from 1983 to 2019. Her bill received unanimous support in the legislature.

“That is a different situation, it wasn’t law enforcement,” Wick said. But, “my hope is we will receive bipartisan support on this.”