Follow the law, attorney general
Senate Bill 1421 was enacted by the state Legislature to increase public transparency around the most serious instances of law enforcement problems and misconduct: sexual assault, dishonesty, officerinvolved shootings, and deadly useofforce incidents.
The law, which upended decades of secrecy around internal law enforcement personnel records in California, has endured many bumps in the road since its passage: lawsuits from police groups challenging its requirements (they’ve lost all of them so far), as well as the refusal of many law enforcement agencies to follow the law and release requested records to media organizations and civil rights groups.
But it’s a mystery why one of SB1421’s greatest opponents is California’s attorney general, Xavier Becerra.
For reasons unknown, Becerra has been a longstanding opponent of SB1421. He was sued by the Free Speech Coalition over the failure of his office to comply with the law.
He’s still fighting. Late Monday, his office filed an appeal in San Francisco Superior Court, arguing that his office shouldn’t have to release all of the records it possesses.
“The trial court ... misconstrued the scope of the (state) Department (of Justice)’s duties by concluding the Department must disclose not only records relating to its own employed officers, but also records regarding officers employed by other agencies,” Becerra argued in his appeal.
Becerra’s office holds many records that it is required to release under SB1421. State investigators review some police shootings. Local police and sher
iff ’s departments are required to report useofforce incidents to him.
Contacted for comment, Becerra’s office sent this statement: “In the appeal you mentioned, we are asking the appellate court to rule that SB1421 does not require the department to disclose records in its possession regarding employees of other law enforcement agencies because it inappropriately risks disclosing information that could affect local agencies’ pending investigations or reveal the identities of witnesses that should remain protected.”
But there is no reason why a public release would reveal witness identities that should remain protected. That’s why the legal world uses redactions.
As for pending investigations, SB1421 makes allowances for those, too. Delays are allowed in individual cases that would be compromised or impacted.
What’s not allowed under SB1421, however, are blanket denials of public transparency. Becerra needs to set an example for the state’s other law enforcement agencies by obeying the law himself.