Stephon Clark

Cases in San Diego and San Leandro will test the stricter standards on when officers can shoot to kill. Training of officers on the new law is inconsistent.

Over the last three decades, Californians have swung from “tough on crime” conservatism to a more lenient, less punitive approach to criminal justice. Based on the results of this year’s election, it doesn’t look like the pendulum is swinging back anytime soon. Already the state had gradually eased up on sentencing standards, made it easier […]

State lawmakers will decide the fate of 15 reform bills during a pandemic-shortened session marked by civil unrest and an economic crisis. Not all of them will make it.

After Sacramento police shot and killed Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man who was in his grandparents’ backyard, activists set out to change California law. They wanted to make it harder to legally justify police shootings. That sparked a heated debate in the state Capitol between the powerful police lobby and families whose loved ones […]

Multi-billion dollar school bond may land on March ballot. Housing bill advances. Municipalities look to break free from PG&E.

In the culmination of one of the fiercest political battles in recent years, California in 2020 put in place a new legal standard tightening the rules around when police can use deadly force. The new standard was a compromise between police and civil rights groups. It legally permits police to use deadly force only when […]

Under the new law, which takes effect January 1, police may use deadly force only when “necessary in defense of human life.”

The latest episode of the Force Of Law podcast focuses on the dangers police face on the job and explores how these risks factor into legislation to curb officers' use of deadly force.

Some legislators shouted. Others choked back tears. But after an hour and a half of speeches, the California Assembly passed what would be the nation's strictest use-of-force standards in the country by an overwhelming margin.

A historic deal to reduce police shootings will give California one of the nation's highest lethal force standards. Key will be defining 'necessary force.'