The state of California has passed a new law which will prohibit law enforcement from using lethal force unless under a serious threat and not simply an "objectively reasonable" one. Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bill on Monday which intends to be a more restrictive measure than the preceding statute.
During an event honoring the signing of the new measure and those who helped get the legislation passed, Newsom told the crowd, "we are doing something today that stretches the boundaries of possibility and sends a message to people all across this country — that they can do more."
The bill, AB 392, has been dubbed the "Stephon Clark Bill" in honor of the unarmed Black man that was gunned down by police in his grandmother's backyard in Sacramento, CA. The officers involved in the shooting said that they believed Clark had a gun in his hand which turned out to be a cellphone.
Ben Adler of Capital Public Radio reports that key terms in this piece of legislation are necessary and reasonable. "Right now, deadly force is justified if a reasonable officer would have acted similarly in that situation," said Adler. "So in other words, what a typical officer would have done based on his or her training. When the law takes effect in January, that standard will change to when the officer reasonably believes deadly force is necessary."
Adler noted, however, that matter of what constitutes something as 'necessary' will most likely be determined by the court, with judges weighing each case within the context of that officer's use of force.
Source: npr.org
