Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

US Consumer Spending Falls as Trump Tariff’s Muddle Economy

1 day ago

US Supreme Court Lets Parents Take Kids Out of Classes With LGBT Storybooks

1 day ago

In Win for Trump, US Supreme Court Limits Judges’ Power to Block Birthright Citizenship Order

2 days ago

California’s Newsom Sues Fox News for $787 Million for Defamation Over Trump Call

2 days ago

Motorcycle Collides With Tractor in Fatal Fresno County Collision

2 days ago

Fourth of July Celebrations Begin Saturday. Here’s Your Fresno Area Guide

2 days ago

Bill Moyers, Broadcaster and LBJ’s White House Press Secretary, Dies at 91

2 days ago

State Department Approves $30 Million for Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

2 days ago

Cargo Ship That Caught Fire Carrying Electric Vehicles Sinks in the Pacific

3 days ago

4 Million Acres of California Forests Could Lose Protection. What Trump’s ‘Roadless Rule’ Repeal Could Do

3 days ago
Walters: Long Alliance of Democrats and Police Union Erodes
dan_walters
By Dan Walters, CalMatters Commentary
Published 6 years ago on
February 14, 2019

Share

California’s crime rates soared in the 1970s and became a potent political issue that Republicans used, with great effect, against Democrats by accusing them of being soft on crime.


Opinion
Dan Walters
CALmatters Commentary

More or less simultaneously, a Democratic Legislature and governor, Jerry Brown, enacted collective bargaining for California’s public employees.
More or less simultaneously, a Democratic Legislature and governor, Jerry Brown, enacted collective bargaining for California’s public employees.
Those two seemingly discrete events spawned a clever – perhaps cynical – political bargain between the state’s Democratic politicians and newly empowered law enforcement unions.
The politicians would support the unions’ bread-and-butter goals, such as enhanced pensions, binding arbitration on police union contracts, a unique “bill of rights” for police officers accused of misconduct and other laws that shielded them from the accountability imposed on other civil servants.
In return, the unions provided Democratic politicians with campaign endorsements that they employed to stave off the soft-on-crime epithets of Republican rivals.
The mutual backscratching was embedded in the state’s political culture for decades.
No more.

Crime Rates Have Declined Sharply

Crime rates have declined sharply from their very high levels of the 1970s and 1980s and no longer occupy high places in polling of Californians’ fears. Democrats have become utterly dominant at all levels of government and no longer must worry about challenges from a feeble Republican Party. And Democrats are much more likely to embrace criminal justice reforms than lock-‘em-up laws.
Two legislative conflicts underscore how the alliance between cops and Democrats has eroded.
Last year, over the strident objections of law enforcement officials and unions, the Legislature passed and Gov. Brown signed legislation that repeals one of the special protections that cops had enjoyed – sealed records on misconduct cases.
Senate Bill 1421, carried by Sen. Nancy Skinner, an Oakland Democrat, requires law enforcement agencies to release disciplinary records of officers involved in unjustified shootings, crimes and other forms of misconduct.
Some unions have sued to block implementation of the new law, some police agencies destroyed their records rather than release them, and some are insisting that the law is not retroactive.
Even Attorney General Xavier Becerra has dragged his feet, refusing requests for misconduct records on the state’s own law enforcement officers.
The second conflict is an even starker example of how the alliance has diminished.

Legislation Was Proposed to Change the Standard

The issue is the almost blanket exemption that police enjoy when they employ deadly force. Current law says that even the most careless shootings of suspects are excusable if the officer had a “reasonable fear” of death or serious physical harm.
Last year, in the wake of two very questionable, and fatal, police shootings in Sacramento, legislation was proposed to change the standard to using deadly force only when “necessary.”

Last year, in the wake of two very questionable, and fatal, police shootings in Sacramento, legislation was proposed to change the standard to using deadly force only when “necessary.”
Police bitterly opposed the bill, carried by Shirley Weber, a Democratic assemblywoman from San Diego, and it was sidetracked in the Senate.
Weber is back with a similar measure, Assembly Bill 392, this year and police groups have countered with Senate Bill 230, by Sen. Anna Caballero, a Salinas Democrat, that would require police agencies to provide better training and adopt other policies to minimize the use of deadly force.
Caballero’s measure would also tighten up the “reasonable fear” standard to “reasonably believes the suspect poses an imminent threat of death or serious physical injury…”
The competing factions and legislators conducted extensive negotiations on a compromise, but could not reach agreement, so both bills will continue their journeys through the legislative process.
The breakdown of the Democrat-police political alliance is part of a broader phenomenon. Now that the Democratic Party is completely dominant in California, vis-à-vis Republicans, it is becoming a collection of quasi-parties competing among themselves for internal relevance.
CALmatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

I Detest Netanyahu, but on Some Things He’s Actually Right

DON'T MISS

University of Virginia President Resigns Under Pressure From Trump Administration

DON'T MISS

How Did the Supreme Court Rule? Here’s a Look at the Big Cases

DON'T MISS

Mamdani’s NYC Primary Win Sparks Surge in Anti-Muslim Posts, Advocates Say

DON'T MISS

Trump Sends in DOGE to Slash Federal Gun Regulations by July 4

DON'T MISS

Tensions Flare at Announcement of Major Fresno County Gang Takedown

DON'T MISS

Measure C ‘Blackmailed’ As Fresno Enviro Coalition Gets Huge Say on Transportation Tax

DON'T MISS

Despite $49M Deficit, Fresno Unified Gives Top Brass 5% Raise, 3% One-Time Bonus

DON'T MISS

US Consumer Spending Falls as Trump Tariff’s Muddle Economy

DON'T MISS

US Supreme Court Preserves Key Element of Obamacare

UP NEXT

Much of LA’s Community of Immigrants Is Hiding, Leaving a Hole in the Fabric of the City

UP NEXT

Things Netanyahu Might Say if Injected With Truth Serum

UP NEXT

California Politicians Ignore Ag’s Troubles, but Boost Movie Business

UP NEXT

Trump’s Courageous and Correct Decision to Bomb Iran

UP NEXT

How the Attacks on Iran Are Part of a Much Bigger Global Struggle

UP NEXT

Groceries Are Now a Luxury. So Is Breathing.

UP NEXT

California Politicians Agree on School Money, but Poor Test Scores Need Attention

UP NEXT

Sen. Alex Padilla: This Is How an Administration Acts When It’s Afraid

UP NEXT

Bay Area Transit Systems Want More Money. But Their Payrolls Soared as Ridership Declined

UP NEXT

History Suggests the GOP Will Pay a Political Price for Its Immigration Tactics in California

Mamdani’s NYC Primary Win Sparks Surge in Anti-Muslim Posts, Advocates Say

16 hours ago

Trump Sends in DOGE to Slash Federal Gun Regulations by July 4

1 day ago

Tensions Flare at Announcement of Major Fresno County Gang Takedown

1 day ago

Measure C ‘Blackmailed’ As Fresno Enviro Coalition Gets Huge Say on Transportation Tax

1 day ago

Despite $49M Deficit, Fresno Unified Gives Top Brass 5% Raise, 3% One-Time Bonus

1 day ago

US Consumer Spending Falls as Trump Tariff’s Muddle Economy

1 day ago

US Supreme Court Preserves Key Element of Obamacare

1 day ago

US Supreme Court Lets Parents Take Kids Out of Classes With LGBT Storybooks

1 day ago

Fresno Unified Trustees Will Get Automatic Raises on Tuesday

2 days ago

Alleged ‘Fake’ ICE Agents Charged. Fresno Court Date Set

2 days ago

I Detest Netanyahu, but on Some Things He’s Actually Right

Like a lot of people of center-right/center-left political leanings, I’ve spent the past few decades detesting Prime Minister Benjamin Netan...

14 hours ago

2022 Election Rally for Netanyahu
14 hours ago

I Detest Netanyahu, but on Some Things He’s Actually Right

University of Virginia President James Ryan Resigns
14 hours ago

University of Virginia President Resigns Under Pressure From Trump Administration

15 hours ago

How Did the Supreme Court Rule? Here’s a Look at the Big Cases

Zohran Mamdani Speaks to Supporters
16 hours ago

Mamdani’s NYC Primary Win Sparks Surge in Anti-Muslim Posts, Advocates Say

American Flag Revolver
1 day ago

Trump Sends in DOGE to Slash Federal Gun Regulations by July 4

Rob_Bonta_Speaking_At_Press_Conference_1280x720
1 day ago

Tensions Flare at Announcement of Major Fresno County Gang Takedown

Garry_Bredefeld_Sandra_Celedon_Mesure_C_1280x720
1 day ago

Measure C ‘Blackmailed’ As Fresno Enviro Coalition Gets Huge Say on Transportation Tax

Fresno_Unified_Raises_1280x720
1 day ago

Despite $49M Deficit, Fresno Unified Gives Top Brass 5% Raise, 3% One-Time Bonus

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend