In pertinent part, effective January 1, 2019, SB 1421 provides public access under the Public Records Act to records related to [state Senate floor analysis text, Aug. 31, 2018]:

a) Reports, investigation, or findings of:

i) Incidents involving the discharge of a firearm at a person by an officer.
ii) Incidents involving the discharge of an electronic control weapon at a person by an officer.
iii)Incidents involving a strike with an impact weapon or projectile to the head or neck of a person by an officer.
iv) Incidents involving use of force by an officer which results in death or serious bodily injury.

b) Any record relating to an incident where there was a sustained finding that an officer engaged in sexual assault of a member of the public.

c) Any record relating to an incident where there was a sustained finding that an officer was dishonest relating to the reporting, investigation, or prosecution of a crime, or relating to the misconduct of another peace officer, including but not limited to perjury, false statements, filing false reports, destruction/falsifying/or concealing evidence, or any other dishonesty that undermines the integrity of the criminal justice system.

[LBREPORT.com provides a list of SB 1421's supporters and opponents at the conclusion of our story.]

Sponsor

Sponsor

With no mention of SB 1421 enabling public accessibility as of January 1, 2019, an item appeared on the December 18, 2018 City Council meeting "consent calendar" here where it wouldn't receive Council discussion or a separate recorded vote unless a Councilmember(s) requested it...and none did.

A week earlier on December 11, 2018, the Council enabled its December 18 action by approving an item also placed on the Council's "consent calendar" that changed the City's records retention schedule categories of records described in this agendized memo which had been retained indefinitely but (with the Council's voted approval) can now be destroyed after five years (the minimum period under state law):

• The Complaint Log [which is] "a log book in which complaints are logged in chronological order and given a case number. The information logged shows the date of the incident, the date it was reported, the name of the complainant, the allegations, the names of the employees against whom the complaint(s) was made, the investigator or unit responsible for the investigation, and case disposition information."
• "Formal investigations by Internal Affairs which have resulted in at least one allegation of misconduct being sustained."
• "Formal investigations by Internal Affairs, which have resulted in sustained allegation(s) and a discipline that is less than a 10-day suspension (this includes letters of reprimand and alternative discipline)."
• "Internal Affairs complaints which have resulted in a finding of: 1) "Non-Misconduct"; 2) "Unfounded"; 3) "Exonerated" and 4) "Not- Sustained".
• "Concealed Weapon (CCW) permits issued to retired Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) peace officers."

Sponsor

On December 27, 2018, an independent LB media outlet, forthe.org published a story bylined to Kevin Flores and Joe Brizzolara titled "Trove of LBPD Records Destroyed Weeks Before New State Transparency Law Takes Effect" at this link.

LBREPORT.com requested LBPD points in response, and LBPD Commander Eric Herzog provided us with the following emailed points:

• In mid-2016 in anticipation of a move to the new City Hall, the city hired a private consultant to assist with reviewing the city's Document Content Management system
• City Manager directed all 15 departments to review of their document retention schedule
• The purpose of the city-wide review was to encourage the use of technology and to reduce the number of physical files being retained
• The Police Department participated in several sessions with the consultant and identified that the Police Department was retaining records beyond the actual retention schedule authorized by California state law and contrary to industry best practices
• The Police Department conducted a survey of 35 local agencies to determine their records retention practices, the vast majority retain IA records for 5 years, which is consistent with California law
• Once records have been identified as available for destruction a request for destruction is submitted to the City Clerk and once approved by the Clerk it is submitted to the Council for final approval
• The records that were approved for destruction were selected after a several years long retention review that began in 2016.
• The records approved for destruction on December 18, all involved former employees who have been separated from the city.
• All the records were for Internal Affairs cases that were from 17 to 40 years old
• No records related current employees were destroyed
• None of the records were related to Officer Involved shootings or In-custody deaths
• Destruction requests are a normal course of business for the Police Department and other city departments
• The destruction was in compliance with city retention schedules and statutory retention requirements

LBREPORT.com is in the process of pursuing this story further.

Sponsor

Sponsor

Listed below for the record are SB 1421's supporters and opponents (state Senate legislative analysis) on final passage.

SUPPORT: (Verified 8/28/18)

American Civil Liberties Union of California (co-source)
Anti-Recidivism Coalition (co-source)
California Chapters of Black Lives Matter (co-source)
California Faculty Association (co-source)
California News Publisher Association (co-source)
Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice (co-source)
Youth Justice Coalition (co-source)
A New Path
A New Way of Life
Advancement Project California
AF3IRM
AFSCME 3299
Alliance for Boys and Men of Color
Alliance San Diego
American Civil Liberties Union of California
Anaheim Community Coalition
Anti Police-Terror Project
Arab American Civic Council
Asian Americans Advancing Justice
Asian Law Alliance
Bay Area Chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice
Bay Area Student Activist
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action
Berkeley City Council
Black American Political Association of California, Sacramento Chapter
Black Jewish Justice Alliance
Black and Pink, Inc.
Cage-Free Repair
California Alliance for Youth and Community
California Broadcasters Association
California Coalition for Women Prisoners
California Church IMPACT
California Federation of Teachers
California Immigrant Policy Center
California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance
California Latinas for Reproductive Justice
California Public Defenders Association
California Nurses Association
Californians Aware
Californians for Justice
Californians United for a Responsible Budget
Catholic Worker
CDTech
Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice
Chican@s Unidos
Children's Defense Fund
Chispa
Church in Ocean Park
Coalition for Justice and Accountability
Climate Action Campaign
Committee for Racial Justice
Community Coalition
Conference of California Bar Associations
Council on American-Islamic Relations, California
Courage Campaign, California
Critical Resistance
Davis People Power
Dignity and Power Now
Drain the NRA
Earl B. Gilliam Bar Association
East Bay Community Law Center
Education Trust–West
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
Equal Justice Society
Equity for Santa Barbara
Fannie Lou Hamer Institute
First Amendment Coalition
Friends Committee on Legislation of California
Greater Long Beach Interfaith Community Organization
Homeboy Industries
Immigrant Legal Resource Center
Indivisible StateStrong
InnerCity Struggle
Interfaith Movement
Interfaith Worker Justice San Diego
International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers
IUCC Advocated for Peace and Justice
Journey House
Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance
LA Voice
LAANE
Law Enforcement Accountability Network
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
Long Beach Chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice
Los Angeles National Lawyers Guild
March and Rally Los Angeles
Marin Chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice
Media Alliance
Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Mid-City CAN
Mother's Quest
Motivating Individual Leadership for Public Advancement
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
National Juvenile Justice Network
NorCal Chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice
Oak View ComUNIDAD
Oakland Privacy
Orange County Communities Organized for Responsible Development
Orange County Equality Coalition
Orange County Racial Justice Collaborative
Pacific Media Workers Guild
Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans
People Acting in Community Together
Pico California
PolicyLink
Prevention Institute
Project Rebound
Public Health Justice Collective
Reporters Committee
Resilience Orange County
Riverside Coalition for Police Accountability
Root & Rebound
R Street
Sacramento Chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice
San Diego Chapter of Jack and Jill of America
San Diego LGBT Community Center
San Diego Organizing Project
San Diego Unified School District
San Francisco District Attorney
San Francisco National Lawyers Guild
San Francisco Public Defender
San Gabriel Valley Immigrant Youth Coalition
Santa Ana Building Healthy Communities
Santa Ana Unidos
Santa Barbara Chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice
Santa Clara District Attorney
Service Employees International Union
Showing Up for Racial Justice Sacramento
Services, Immigrant Rights, and Education Network
Sillicon Valley De-BUG
Social Justice Learning Institute
Sonoma County Democratic Party
Southeast Asia Resource Action Center
Stop LAPD Spying Coalition
Street Level Health Project
Think Dignity
Transgender Law Center
UAW2865, UC Student-Workers Union
Union of Alameda County Public Defender's Office
UNITE HERE Local 11
Urban Peace Institute
Urban Peace Movement
Village Connect
W. Haywood Burns Institute
White People 4 Black Lives
Women's Foundation of California
Women For: Orange County
Young Women's Freedom Center
Youth ALIVE!
@Press4word
Numerous individuals

OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/28/18)

Association of Deputy District Attorneys
Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
California Association of Highway Patrolmen
California District Attorneys Association
California Peace Officers' Association
California Police Chiefs Association
California Narcotic Officers' Association
California State Sheriffs' Association
Chief Probation Officers of California
Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association
Los Angeles Probation Officers
Los Angeles Police Protective League
Peace Officers Research Association of California
San Bernardino Sheriff-Coroner

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