News & Commentary

By Chauncee Smith

If the people are going to hold their government accountable, they need to know what that government is actually doing. A big part of the recent public outcry over policing reflects the concern that when police violate the law, or shoot someone, the public doesn’t get the full story.

It’s been a difficult, painful year. Many feel increasingly heartbroken and outraged with each new death of an unarmed person of color at the hands of police. But that feeling isn’t enough.

On the same day a female Los Angeles Police officer was sentenced to 36 months for delivering hard kicks to the groin of a handcuffed woman who later died, a homeless woman with mental illness was facing 25 years to life for merely picking up a police baton. How do we account for this disparity? How do we reconcile local prosecutors giving police officers the benefit of every real or imagined mitigating circumstance while civilians are routinely overcharged with crimes carrying the most severe penalties?

Earlier this month, a federal judge released disturbing video of Gardena Police officers shooting an unarmed man to death and wounding another — footage the city and its police department fought to keep from the public. That fight shows why we can’t leave it to police departments’ discretion whether to be transparent on deadly force, but badly need state law to make information like this available to the public.

By Jessica Farris

Many officers think they can legally arrest you for refusing to show your identification. Many times they are wrong.

This post was originally published in the Sacramento Bee