San Diego

SD City Council Sends Police Reform Measure to November Ballot

Previously, all investigations had to start from a citizen's complaint and NBC 7 Investigates found that not all claims would be forwarded to the Community Review Board

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San Diego City Councilmembers voted unanimously on Tuesday to let voters decide on a police reform measure that would give an independent commission oversight of law enforcement practices in the city.

If approved by voters in November, the measure would dissolve the existing Community Review Board on Police Practices (CRB) and create a new independent commission, which would have subpoena power and an independent counsel.

The commission would review incidents of excessive force that cause major injuries, any time an officer fires a weapon or any time an officer uses force at a protest.

The measure needs voter approval because it would amend the city charter.

Previously, all investigations had to start from a citizen's complaint and NBC 7 Investigates found that not all claims would be forwarded to the CRB.

Advocates have been pushing for years for changes to the San Diego Police Department's CRB, established in 1988.

The committee, made up of 23 mayor-appointed volunteers, has been criticized in recent years as being an arm of the department as questions were raised for what appeared to be conflicts of interest, according to reporting by NBC 7 Investigates.

The proposed measure comes amid weeks of protests in San Diego and nationwide that call for the end of police brutality, an end to racial injustice and the creation of possible reform.

On Monday, a police oversight group detailed a proposal on how to increase accountability for the San Diego Police Department. The Coalition for Police Accountability and Transparency's (CPAT) “Police Accountability Now” proposal includes banning consent searches and ending pretext traffic stops, decriminalizing low-level offenses, investing in non-law enforcement interventions and creating a community-led oversight board.

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