SJCPOAUpdates
Membership Updates June 13, 2019
Congratulations Shelby on receiving the SCOPO Jim Frayne Scholarship!!
SJCPOA would like to congratulate Shelby Featherston on her selection for the State Coalition of Probation Organizations Jim Frayne Academic Scholarship. Shelby was selected as the winner of this scholarship given by SCOPO every year. Shelby is the daughter of member Kristen Featherston and Phil Featherston. Congratulations Shelby on receiving the SCOPO Jim Frayne Scholarship!!
Legislature Amends Controversial Use of Force Bill
Responding to pressure from the State Coalition of Probation Organizations and other law enforcement groups, state legislators last week amended their controversial use of force bill to remove provisions that drastically increased civil and criminal liability for peace officers who use deadly force.
Responding to pressure from the State Coalition of Probation Organizations and other law enforcement groups, state legislators last week amended their controversial use of force bill to remove provisions that drastically increased civil and criminal liability for peace officers who use deadly force. The revisions to AB 392, however, continue to restrict the use of deadly force by peace officers to those situations where the force is deemed “necessary” under “the totality of the circumstances” to prevent imminent death or serious bodily injury to the officer or another person.
Under the amended bill, homicide by a peace officer still is justified only when “the officer reasonably believes, based on the totality of the circumstances, that [the] force is necessary” to (1) defend against an imminent threat of death or great bodily injury to the officer or another person or (2) to apprehend a fleeing felon when the felony involved actual or threatened death or serious bodily injury. The officer using deadly force to apprehend a fleeing felon must reasonably believe the felon will cause death or seriously bodily injury unless immediately apprehended. The bill defines “totality of the circumstances” to include the officer’s own conduct.
Stricken from the legislation are provisions that required peace officers to exhaust all reasonable alternatives before using deadly force and subjected officers to prosecution if the use of deadly force was caused by the officer’s own negligence. The authors also removed provisions imposing liability on officers in civil and administrative proceedings involving the use of force. The authors returned to the bill language stating an officer making or attempting an arrest need not retreat or desist if the suspect resists.
AB 392 and a companion state Senate bill requiring additional use of force training are likely to become California law. The bill’s coauthors include the Senate president pro tem, the chairs of the Assembly and Senate Public Safety Committees, and other key legislators, and Governor Gavin Newsom has expressed support for the bill.
© 2019 Law Offices of Christopher W. Miller
Membership Update April 1, 2019
On March 27 through March 28, the San Joaquin County Probation Officers Association Board attended the State Coalition of Probation Organizations Legislative Day at the State Capital. The purpose of these two days was to meet with legislature and discuss potential bills that are important to probation officers, and to also discuss different strategies when dealing with such legislation. Your board was split up on to several teams and branched out meeting with members of the assembly as well as members of the senate in an attempt to educate them on our roles of what we do and how certain bills affect our lives, and jobs.
This year SCOPO sponsored Assembly Bill 310 introduced by Assembly Member Santiago. The purpose of this bill was to address probation officers having to serve jury duty pertaining to criminal trials. Members at the Capital were educated on the negative affect this has on probation peace officers as personal information is shared during the selection process as well as potential conflicts as pre-sentence reports are completed by Probation as well as disposition reports for minors. Sherriff deputies and police officers are already exempt from having to serve on a jury, due to the realization of the inherent danger that they are exposed to when dealing with potential criminals. This bill would seek to extend this exemption to probation peace officers. For more information pertaining to this bill, please click the link below.
Overall the meetings were a success. Your board as part of SCOPO also addressed concerns pertaining to certain legislation and how they would affect the lives of our officers as well as the probation field. Our opposition to these bills was stated and presented with information in an attempt to help our legislature understand how each bill would negatively affect our profession and the community we serve. Your board will continue to advocate on your behalf at both the local and state level.
Learn more about the AB-310 Trial Jury Selection and Management Act
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB310
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