How the LAPPL Helped Defeat SB 1019

It’s a sad day in California when an elected official seeks to gin up hatred of LAPD officers. Unfortunately, as we revealed last month, that is exactly what State Senator Gloria Romero decided to do with her legislation, Senate Bill 1019.

Romero tried to use a last-minute legislative maneuver to push legislation that would overturn a Supreme Court decision regarding police officers’ personnel hearings [Copley Press]. Romero and her supporters, like the ACLU, decided to distribute misinformation about LAPD officers to help get her bill passed. What was apparent from a reading of Romero’s bill was that she could not pass it on its merits. Instead, she needed a group for the public to hate, and she decided LAPD officers would be that group. (It is also evident she is still bitter that law enforcement unions statewide opposed her 2007 bill to overturn the Supreme Court's decision.)

Once the LAPPL learned about her attack on LAPD officers, we initiated a campaign to fight the bill. With less than one week’s notice, we were able to get a radio spot on the air urging the public to oppose the bill. We distributed press releases and engaged other police union leaders around the state to oppose the legislation, which was largely backed by the news media.

Last week, police union representatives descended on the Capitol and urged opposition to the bill, set for a hearing before the Assembly Public Safety Committee. The hearing began with powerful testimony from elected officials and numerous high-profile proponents. Yet despite the well-organized support for the bill and the daily editorials in most California newspapers, our modest last-minute campaign succeeded and the bill was defeated.

When the public sees LAPD officers, they see people who are willing to lay their lives on the line for others. They don’t see people they should hate. The fact is, police officers have tough, physical jobs and misconduct complaints are a fact of life because many false complaints are filed by the criminals themselves!

Proper oversight is essential to preventing and punishing police misconduct, but officers who have not been charged with a crime should not have their reputations tainted. In many communities, such as Los Angeles, independent citizen commissions hold confidential hearings on police discipline. This ensures peace officers are held accountable while also protecting their privacy and safety.

As we warned in our ads, Romero’s bill could have blown the covers of undercover officers assigned to stop drug dealers and gang violence, endangering them and their families. Public disciplinary hearings and investigations of police officers could damage their credibility with community members, whose cooperation is vital in keeping our streets safe. This law would have allowed criminal defense lawyers to use information about complaints against police officers, whether the information was true or not.

Police officers need to feel secure about their personnel records. We take enough risks as it is; our private information should not become another. Romero’s campaign of bitterness and divisiveness failed because as we demonstrated, officers’ rights and the truth always wins over slogans and lies. We hope that this latest victory in Sacramento ends politicians trying to overturn the California Supreme Court and State Constitution, which protects the confidentiality of peace officer personnel records. Urgent issues such as the budget, economy, oil and energy prices should be their legislative priorities.

SB1019 Radio Ad

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