Senator Wiener’s Statement in Support of Assembly Bill 931

June 12, 2018

Sacramento–  Today, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) issued the following statement regarding Assembly Bill 931, by Assemblymembers Shirley Weber (D-San Diego) and Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento):

“Too many people, particularly young black men, are being shot by law enforcement officers. We must reduce the number of police shootings, which we can do without impairing the ability of our officers to keep our communities, and themselves, safe.

I have the greatest of respect for the officers who work every day to keep us safe, the large majority of whom have never fired their gun and never will. Officers go to work not knowing whether they will return home at night. I have worked with police officers for many years - as a community activist, a neighborhood leader, and an elected official - and I represented many police officers as a Deputy City Attorney.

At the same time, police shootings in our state and elsewhere are deeply troubling to me and to many in our communities. California is overdue to reevaluate our standards around police officer use of lethal force, with a goal of reducing the number of situations in which officers shoot people. AB 931 allows us to move in that direction, and I support it. I have been in communication with Assemblymember Shirley Weber, the bill’s lead author, and I know that discussions are underway to ensure that the bill is drafted in a way that will accomplish the goal of reducing shootings and keeping all community members and officers safe. I look forward to seeing any amendments that come forward during the Public Safety Committee process and beyond. With that said, I support the bill, will vote to pass it out of committee, and thank Dr. Weber, the ACLU (the bill’s sponsor), law enforcement, and Senate staff for working to make the bill as good as it can be.”