Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Governor's Panel Urges Police to De-Escalate, Show Restraint in Protests
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
October 14, 2020

Share

SACRAMENTO — Days after police and members of an unruly crowd were injured following the Los Angeles Lakers’ latest basketball championship, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday released a report urging better communication and restraint by officers and warning that the use of tactical weapons for crowd control can escalate the sort of violence they are intended to deter.

Newsom sought the more than three-dozen recommendations after months of nationwide demonstrations followed the death of George Floyd in the custody of Minneapolis police. But California’s largest police unions called them unrealistic, and a legislator from the governor’s own Democratic Party criticized several of his recent police reform vetoes.

Urges Minimizing ‘Militaristic Presence’

He in turn ordered California’s police training panel to update its standards to prioritize protecting free speech rights and focus on selectively identifying and detaining instigators and hate groups who officials say can turn an otherwise peaceful crowd violent.

Local agencies should require their officers to activate their body cameras during protests, Newsom’s advisors said. They should protect journalists and legal observers, several of whom were injured by police in recent demonstrations.

And they urged police to minimize a “militaristic presence” of armored vehicles or military-style helmets or weapons that “can be counterproductive … and may incite or escalate conflict.”

Rubber bullets and chemical irritants can not only injure and kill, they said, but can “rapidly escalate conflict, and … should be used as a last resort to protect life and repel assaults when other means have been exhausted.”

Unions Criticize Recommendations

Brian Marvel, president of the rank-and-file Peace Officers Research Association of California, called the recommendations “a step in the right direction.” But police unions in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Jose said the report and Newsom’s announcement fail to address keeping officers safe and paying for the new training.

The report “pretends that violence and looting are brought on by police presence,” the unions said in a joint statement. ”We would welcome the authors of this research report to come stand the line with us during the next riot and show us how respecting ‘spatial boundaries’ and reducing the use of less than lethal crowd control devices will quell the looting, violence and injuries to officers we experienced during many of the so called peaceful protests.”

Newsom released the report days after eight police officers were treated for injuries and three demonstrators were taken to hospitals after they were hit by so-called less-lethal munitions. Los Angeles police said about 1,000 Lakers fans initially celebrated peacefully until “unruly individuals” began throwing glass, bottles, rocks and other projectiles at officers and damaged more than 30 buildings.

He said the recommendations will “reinforce the values of community partnership, de-escalation, and restraint.”

Newsom Vetoed Some Police Reform Legislation

While most departments have behaved professionally during months of civil unrest, “there also have been disturbing and well-documented instances of unnecessary and counterproductive aggression, instigation, and over-reaction,” wrote former East Palo Alto police chief Ron Davis and Bay Area Rapid Transit president Lateefah Simon. They worked with Goldman School of Public Policy and Administration professor Jack Glaser on the report.

Their report is dated Sept. 28, two days before Newsom vetoed a bill that his advisors seem to support.

“Time and again, we heard stakeholders express a strong interest in shifting some funding away from traditional law enforcement responses to investments in communities and other types of first responders such as mental health providers and trained conflict resolution experts,” they wrote, saying they “wholeheartedly agree.”

Newsom last month said he supported the concept even as he vetoed a bipartisan bill intended to do just that, saying he disagreed with how the proposed grant program would have been administered.

“It’s unfortunate that when California had an opportunity to lead, we decided to step back,” said Democratic Assemblywoman Sydney Kamlager. “Everyone seems to be in agreement, so I look forward to him signing the bill next year.”

She said the recommendations often appear to be “a regurgitation of many of the bills that went through the legislative process last year,” including measures limiting the use of rubber bullets, protecting journalists and discouraging the use of militaristic weaponry, some of which failed to advance or were vetoed.

Dennis Cuevas-Romero, legislative advocate at the ACLU Center for Advocacy and Policy, was similarly critical of lost reform opportunities, adding that “police should not need costly additional training to understand that the First Amendment protects protesters and journalists from the widespread abuses we’ve seen.”

RELATED TOPICS:

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

Cuomo Concedes to Mamdani in New York City Democratic Mayoral Contest

DON'T MISS

Mamdani Holds Lead Over Cuomo in Democratic Primary for NYC Mayor

DON'T MISS

Fresno County’s New Breeding Ordinance Could Shut Down 50 Operations

DON'T MISS

NATO Leaders Set to Back Trump Defense Spending Goal at Hague Summit

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Wildfire Quickly Contained. How Did They Do It?

DON'T MISS

Lender’s Intervention Halts City of Fresno’s Eviction Attempt at Granite Park

DON'T MISS

Clovis Unified Faces Lawsuit Alleging Years of Neglect and Sexual Abuse at Fancher Creek

DON'T MISS

Suspect in Bombing at California Fertility Clinic Dies in Federal Custody

DON'T MISS

US Airstrikes Failed to Destroy Iran’s Nuclear Sites, Sources Say

DON'T MISS

Stephen Miller Expands Power in Second Trump Term, Defies Legal Limits

UP NEXT

Mamdani Holds Lead Over Cuomo in Democratic Primary for NYC Mayor

UP NEXT

Suspect in Bombing at California Fertility Clinic Dies in Federal Custody

UP NEXT

Poll: Most Californians Prefer Lower Taxes and Fewer Services, Skeptical of Gov’t Spending

UP NEXT

Clovis Man Sentenced to 8 Years in Federal Prison in Deadly Fentanyl Case

UP NEXT

Victims Identified as Death Toll Climbs to 8 in Lake Tahoe Boating Tragedy

UP NEXT

Dying Honey Bees Threaten CA Economy. Can Central Valley Lawmakers Save Them?

UP NEXT

PG&E Is Hiring an Executive Bodyguard. Combat Shooting Experience Required

UP NEXT

Florida to Build ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Detention Center for Migrants in Everglades

UP NEXT

6 Dead After Boat Capsizes on Lake Tahoe

UP NEXT

Americans Worry Conflict With Iran Could Escalate, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

NATO Leaders Set to Back Trump Defense Spending Goal at Hague Summit

8 hours ago

Fresno County Wildfire Quickly Contained. How Did They Do It?

8 hours ago

Lender’s Intervention Halts City of Fresno’s Eviction Attempt at Granite Park

8 hours ago

Clovis Unified Faces Lawsuit Alleging Years of Neglect and Sexual Abuse at Fancher Creek

8 hours ago

Suspect in Bombing at California Fertility Clinic Dies in Federal Custody

9 hours ago

US Airstrikes Failed to Destroy Iran’s Nuclear Sites, Sources Say

9 hours ago

Stephen Miller Expands Power in Second Trump Term, Defies Legal Limits

9 hours ago

FTA Unloads on Fresno Unified After Skipping External Search for Chief Academic Officer

10 hours ago

Fresno Man Dies After Alleyway Attack. Police Investigating

10 hours ago

Poll: Most Californians Prefer Lower Taxes and Fewer Services, Skeptical of Gov’t Spending

10 hours ago

Cuomo Concedes to Mamdani in New York City Democratic Mayoral Contest

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday conceded to state lawmaker Zohran Mamdani in the Democratic primary election for New York C...

4 hours ago

Former New York governor and New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo speaks during the primary election night rally in New York City, U.S., June 24, 2025. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper
4 hours ago

Cuomo Concedes to Mamdani in New York City Democratic Mayoral Contest

People hold “I Voted” stickers on Democratic primary day in New York, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. After months of campaigning, caustic debates and a deluge of attack ads, the consequential Democratic primary for mayor of New York City comes to a head on Tuesday as voters stream to the ballot box in blistering heat. (Hilary Swift/The New York Times)
5 hours ago

Mamdani Holds Lead Over Cuomo in Democratic Primary for NYC Mayor

7 hours ago

Fresno County’s New Breeding Ordinance Could Shut Down 50 Operations

President Donald Trump arrives at a dinner for NATO heads of state and governments hosted by Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Dutch Queen Maxima, on the sidelines of a NATO Summit, at Huis ten Bosch Palace in The Hague, Netherlands June 24, 2025. (Reuters/Toby Melville)
8 hours ago

NATO Leaders Set to Back Trump Defense Spending Goal at Hague Summit

A 180-acre wildfire in Cantua Creek was fully contained Tuesday afternoon, with CalFire crediting nearby roads for helping crews quickly stop the Monterey Fire from spreading. (CalFire)
8 hours ago

Fresno County Wildfire Quickly Contained. How Did They Do It?

8 hours ago

Lender’s Intervention Halts City of Fresno’s Eviction Attempt at Granite Park

8 hours ago

Clovis Unified Faces Lawsuit Alleging Years of Neglect and Sexual Abuse at Fancher Creek

California Fertility Clinic Bombing Investigation
9 hours ago

Suspect in Bombing at California Fertility Clinic Dies in Federal Custody

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

Search

Send this to a friend