San Jose police reform at a standstill

(Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

(SAN JOSE, Calif.) After George Floyd’s death in May 2020 and downtown protests in San Jose, Mayor Sam Liccardo presented a plan to reform the city’s police department.

According to KRON 4, last month City Council voted to proceed with police reforms and to hire a consultant to help with internal police investigations.

The negotiations between the city and the police union may take longer than expected.

Multiple people have complained about how police handled the George Floyd protests, which have resulted in lawsuits against SJPD.

“Here in San Jose we heard very clearly and I think our police department heard clearly the demands for change from the community so we’ve been working very hard on a set of reforms and with a new chief in place we’re about to embark on a whole new effort with the community," said Liccardo, per KRON 4.

Internal police misconduct probes out of the city police department require negotiations with police officers, according to state law.

The San Jose Police Officers Association is still in negotiations with the city and said they’re not sure what the city is trying to fix, according to KRON 4.

"Particularly after the murder of George Floyd, we’re well past the moment in this country where Americans are going to accept the notion that police will be expected to police themselves. It doesn’t work that way with nearly any other institution in this country. We have independent investigatory authorities for a reason, as it should be also with police departments," said the San Jose Police Officers Association per KRON 4.

Unfortunately, the city only received one bid from consultants to assist with the internal investigations department, which forces them to continue the search.

Follow me to see more articles like this.

...

Follow