FACT SHEET: Mayor Darrell Steinberg's police reform blueprint

Protesters gather in Cesar Chavez Plaza

Mayor Steinberg’s proposal for systemic police reform

Fact Sheet

Independent review

A new Inspector General working in the City’s Office of Public Safety Accountability would have full independence and the authority to investigate officer-involved shootings and use-of-force incidents that resulted in serious bodily injury or death.

• Authority would include ability to interview witnesses

• The Inspector General would be paid for out of the City’s general fund and would not be connected to law enforcement.

• Inspector General would make findings on whether department policies were violated and whether officers should be disciplined or terminated.

• Findings would be presented to the public, the City Council and the Sacramento Community Police Review Commission (Police Commission)

• Inspector General’s findings would have to be made public BEFORE City manager could make decisions on officer termination or discipline.

• Police Commission would be empowered to take the Inspector General’s findings and make its own public recommendation on officer discipline or termination.

Redefining the duties and functions of our police officers  

• Police would no longer respond to calls that did not involve the commission of a crime

• Responsibility would be shifted over a 24-month period (by July 2022) to a new City corps of non-law enforcement responders

• City would conduct 60-day evaluation of the number and percentage of calls currently handled by the Sacramento Police Department that are unrelated to the commission of crimes.

• Funding equal to the cost of handling that volume of calls would be shifted to new responder unit over a 24-month period.

• Immediate appropriation of $5 million from the general fund to launch the new non-law enforcement responder unit

Updating use-of-force policies

• Council to review and act upon recommendations from Police Commission.

• Council to review and act upon any recommendations from the state Department of Justice its 2019 review of the department that have not been implemented.

• City staff to review the Eightcantwait.org model recommendations for police policies and procedures and report back to the City Council on whether Sacramento complies with all eight policies, and if not, what needs to be changed.

 Legislation

• Endorse and push AB 1506 by Assemblymember Kevin McCarty of Sacramento, which would create an independent review unit within the state Attorney General’s office to review use-of-force cases and pursue criminal charges. Mayor Steinberg will also bring the bill to the City Council for endorsement by the full body.

• Endorse and push AB 1196, which would ban statewide the use of carotid restraint holds. The Sacramento Police Department suspended the use of such holds on June 6.