Police: use of force.

Existing law authorizes a peace officer to use reasonable force to effect the arrest, to prevent escape, or to overcome resistance. Existing law requires law enforcement agencies to maintain a policy on the use of force, as specified. Existing law requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to implement courses of instruction for the regular and periodic training of law enforcement officers in the use of force. This bill would prohibit the use of kinetic energy projectiles or chemical agents, as defined, by any law enforcement agency to disperse any assembly, protest, demonstration, or other gathering of persons, except in compliance with specified standards set by the bill, and would prohibit their use solely due to a violation of an imposed curfew, verbal threat, or noncompliance with a law enforcement directive. The bill would prohibit the use of chloroacetophenone tear gas or 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile gas by law enforcement agencies to disperse any assembly, protest, demonstration, or other gathering of persons. The bill would include in the standards for the use of kinetic energy projectiles and chemical agents to disperse gatherings the requirement that, among other things, those weapons only be fired at a specific target who presents a clear and imminent threat to themselves, the officers, or other persons. The bill would make these provisions inapplicable within a state prison facility. Existing law requires specified law enforcement agencies, by no later than January 1, 2021, to maintain a policy on the use of force that meets specified requirements. This bill would require those agencies, by no later than January 1, 2022, to include in those policies specified guidelines relating to deployment at assemblies, protests, demonstrations, and similar gatherings of people. Existing law requires each law enforcement agency to annually report specified use of force incidents to the Department of Justice and requires the Department of Justice to annually publish a summary of those incidents, as specified. The bill would also require each law enforcement agency, beginning on January 1, 2023, to report any incident in which a kinetic energy projectile or chemical agent is used against a person resulting in a reported injury. The bill would require those agencies, commencing on March 31, 2024, to annually publish a report on their use of kinetic energy projectiles and chemical agents. The bill would require a city in which federal law enforcement is operating to request that the federal law enforcement agency refrain from the use of kinetic energy projectiles or chemical agents to disperse any assembly, protest, demonstration, or other gathering, except as specified in the standards. By imposing new duties on law enforcement agencies and cities, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.