SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento Community Police Review Commission is tasked with reviewing Sacramento Police Department policies and procedures and offering recommendations for improvements.
In September, the commission sent their recommendations to the Sacramento City Council, Mayor Darrell Steinberg, City Manager Howard Chan and Police Chief Daniel Hahn.
Nearly six months later, Commission members haven’t yet received a response.
Kiran Savage, the commission’s chairperson, said the main recommendation was to change the Sacramento Police Department’s standard for the acceptable use of deadly force.
“Right now, the standard - and the standard that was applied in this (Stephon Clark) case - is that an officer may use deadly force if they believe that there is an imminent danger to themselves or to the public,” Savage said. “The (suggested) change - and this is what the City of San Francisco uses - is that an officer can only use deadly force as last resort, when no alternatives exist.”
That recommendation means that if an officer can do anything to avoid using deadly force, “even if there was a danger…then they should do that other thing,” Savage said. “If there’s an opportunity to de-escalate, to use a less-lethal weapon, to contain the situation.”
The letter containing this recommendation was sent in late September. Savage says, the Commission still hasn’t received a response.
“I think a really good start would be for the mayor and council to provide a response to the recommendations they were given nearly six months ago by the commission,” Savage said. “They have not responded officially or taken actions on the recommendations.”
Community and faith leaders held a news conference Saturday, in the wake of District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert’s announcement that the two Sacramento police officers who shot and killed Stephon Clark in March 2018 would not be criminally charged. In that, one leader specifically called out the Sacramento Community Police Review Commission as symbolic and toothless. Their recommendations are non-binding.
“They are correct; we have no actual oversight power of the police department,” Savage said. “The ability we have to make change is based on the mayor and the city council being willing to work with us and implement those recommendations.”
The Commission has gone as far as they can, she said, by making their recommendations.
“I think our recommendations do reflect what the community is asking for. I think you heard that today,” she said.
The full text of the Sept. 2018 recommendations letter is HERE.
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WATCH MORE: Salena Manni, Stephon Clark’s fiancée, decries DA’s decision not to file charges | Extended Cut
The fiancée of Stephon Clark says the prosecutor's decision not to file charges continues a "shameful legacy" of officers killing black men without consequences.