LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously today to approve a motion to advance reform options for police accountability, including creating the ability for the Chief of Police to fire officers, and reform and repeal the all-civilian Board of Rights. The motion, introduced by Councilmembers Tim McOsker and Hugo Soto-Martínez, will return for final language from the City Attorney before appearing on the November 2024 ballot.
Currently the Chief of Police does not have the power to fire police officers. Instead, the Chief recommends a discipline, including removal, to the Board of Rights. The motion directs an option for the voters to increase accountability by establishing the authority for the Chief of Police to immediately fire officers in egregious cases.
“Today police accountability rests solely in the Board of Rights, and by giving authority to the Chief of Police the voters could create a more well-rounded system of accountability and transparency,” said Councilmember Tim McOsker. “With this motion we are looking to correct the missteps of Measure C and improve the ways we can hold LAPD to the standards the public deserves.”
In 2017, the voters approved Charter Amendment Measure C. Measure C was designed to provide police officers accused of misconduct the choice between a new Board of Rights panel composed of three civilians or the existing Board of Rights panel of two police officers and one civilian.
According to a 2018 report by the ACLU, who criticized Measure C, prior to the implementation of the all-civilian Board of Rights, “much too often, when officers in the Los Angeles Police Department break the rules, their disciplinary process fails to hold them accountable.”
While one of the primary objectives of Measure C was to increase police accountability, in reality, these all-civilian Boards have proven to be far more lenient towards officers who have committed serious misconduct.
A 2022 Board of Police Commissioners Report found that the all-civilian Board has proven to be “substantially more lenient”, in particular “reducing every recommended penalty.”
“This effort is about establishing real accountability for police when they commit misconduct,” said Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez. “We have an opportunity as a city to right a historical wrong that has plagued Los Angeles, and particularly communities of color, for decades.”
The McOsker/Soto-Martínez motion also seeks to look at reforms that could be made to the all-civilian Board to improve the discipline systems to hold officers accountable, while also protecting due process rights.
The motion calls for a report back from city departments for other options for reform including:
- Alternative models for the Board of Rights, including a modified composition of civilian and sworn personnel serving on a Board
- Professionalizing the prosecutorial side of the hearings by using attorneys to serve instead of sworn personnel to present the City’s case for discipline. The City Attorney’s office has already begun hiring for these positions.
- Re-examining the criteria set for the selection of civilians to serve in the pool of potential panelists
- Incorporating binding arbitration as a component of the discipline process, where appropriate.
The approved motion will next go through the legislative process in committee and Council. The City Attorney’s office will draft Charter Amendment language for this package to appear on the November 2024 ballot.
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