AB 2923: Peace officers: public complaints.

Existing law requires each department or agency that employs peace officer to establish a procedure to investigate complaints by members of the public against the personnel of the department or agency.

This bill would require a form used during the complaint process to include a provision inquiring whether the complaint includes an allegation of racial or identify profiling and a space to describe the allegation. The bill would define complaint for these purposes to mean a report, given either in writing or verbally, that brings to the attention of a department or agency an incident during which the complainant perceives that a department or agency employee engaged in misconduct, as specified.

The bill would require a department or agency to develop a process whereby a member of the public may submit a concern that a policy of the department could result in harm to an individual, as specified, and if the department or agency discovers conduct that could be a basis for a complaint, to report the conduct to a supervisor, as specified. By increasing duties on local law enforcement entities, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Existing law makes it a misdemeanor for a person to file an allegation of misconduct against a peace officer knowing the allegation to be false. Existing law requires a law enforcement agency accepting an allegation of misconduct against a peace officer to require the complainant to read and sign a prescribed advisory.

This bill would instead make it a misdemeanor to file an allegation if the person knowingly and intentionally makes a false statement that is material and is made with the intent that the false statement will be used as a basis to punish a peace officer, and would exempt statements that are in dispute from prosecution. to the allegation of misconduct by the officer and is made in bad faith and with the intent that the false statement will be used as a wrongful basis to investigate a peace officer or to harass or otherwise harm the officer. The bill would make conforming changes in the prescribed advisory.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.