Black police chiefs in Calif. want law fixed

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Black police chiefs representing departments from across California on Friday called for changing state law so they can immediately fire officers for egregious behavior, with due-process appeals only after the fact.

California has some of the nation’s toughest police disciplinary rules and until last year the nation’s most secretive police privacy law.

Coupled with collective bargaining agreements, the chiefs said that prevents the rapid dismissal of officers, in contrast to recent cases in Atlanta and Minneapolis where officers were fired even before criminal charges were brought.

The eight chiefs from cities including San Francisco and Sacramento support officers’ rights to due process as required by California’s Peace Officers Bill of Rights, said Seaside Police Chief Abdul Pridgen, speaking for the group.

But he said the law, augmented by union agreements, gives some officers “extraordinary due process rights.”

“Uncommon rights and lengthy arbitration, then appeals, make it extremely difficult to terminate an employee who exhibits abhorrent behavior,” Pridgen said.

“Police chiefs should be provided the latitude in statute to summarily terminate an officer for an egregious use of excessive force that violates policy or meets the elements of criminal statute.”

Three large police unions that this week called for systemic national change said that even officers accused of egregious criminal acts are entitled to due process.

But they are open to discussing how a new approach could work alongside their call for a national database of officers fired for gross misconduct, a warning system to spot officers who need more training, and ongoing training and a use-of-force policy modeled on new California laws intended to deter slayings.