New State Report Calls For Further Sacramento Police Reforms After Stephon Clark Killing

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Wednesday released a new set of reform recommendations for the Sacramento Police Department to consider in response to the 2018 fatal police shooting of Stephon Clark.

The report, released Wednesday, encourages the department to revise its hiring and retention practices, prioritize de-escalation techniques and decrease the use of canine biting techniques, among other recommendations.

“This was not a report meant to be printed and put on a shelf,” Becerra said during a virtual press briefing. "I urge you [SPD] to read our recommendations and build on them."

The report follows an initial set of lengthy recommendations released by the California Department of Justice in January 2019, that specifically addressed the SPD's policies and practices regarding use of force and officer-involved shootings. The recommendations, some of which are reiterated in the most recent report, included banning the use of most chokeholds.

This second phase of recommendations focuses more on improving the department's internal affairs policies. Neither of the reports are legally binding.

"It’s not about just being sufficient as a police department," Becerra said. "This is about being accountable and meeting the call for change. It's also about stepping up to make a difference when we're confronted by tragedy, because the shooting death of Stephon Clark back in 2018 was exactly that."

During the briefing, Becerra repeatedly praised SPD Chief Daniel Hahn for allowing a thorough review of his department and striving for "excellence."

"You don’t often get asked to go in and really look at the inside of the operation. He really wanted to be a leader," Becerra said, adding that Hahn instructed investigators to "come in and let me know how we can improve."

Hahn — who notably did not attend today's briefing — called for the original AG report following the March 2018 killing of Clark, an unarmed 22-year-old Black man shot multiple times by police officers in the backyard of his grandmother's house. The incident sparked widespread protests in Sacramento and other cities, and drew national media attention.

Following a nearly year-long investigation, Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert did not charge the two officers who killed Clark, reigniting angry protests in the city. In a move assailed by activists, Becerra also declined to charge the officers, concluding that they legitimately believed Clark had a gun as he moved toward them. Both officers remain on active duty in the department.

In the wake of the shooting, the city adopted a set of relatively modest reforms, including additional requirements for releasing body camera footage and a new foot patrol policy, changes that activists criticized as falling far short of what was needed.

Although presenting himself as a civil rights defender, Becerra has drawn criticism from police reform activists and other progressives for protecting law enforcement and  not fully backing legislative checks on police use of force. In 2019, he was also sued by civil rights groups for refusing to release use-of-force records, and later threatened legal action against Bay Area journalists who received a secret list of police misconduct records he said were improperly released.

The new AG's report also calls on the SPD to examine racial disparities in its stops, arrests and use of force. African Americans were involved in 43% of SPD’s use-of-force incidents between 2013 and 2018, it found, but made up just 13% of Sacramento’s population.

Additionally, the report urges the department to encourage officers to report issues without fear of retribution, and to rethink its recruitment and hiring practices.

"You want to make sure you’re hiring the best," Becerra said. "If you're hiring the best, you can make sure you avoid some of those worst problems."

The new recommendations come amid ongoing protests in scores of cities across the country — and the world — against police brutality, sparked by the widely denounced killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in late May. In Sacramento, demonstrators have frequently invoked the death of Clark in their calls for sweeping reform of the city's police department.

Asked what he would tell activists who are demanding real, immediate action — not just another report — Becerra said, "I say, continue to peacefully make that call. Continue to stand strong. Understand that change does not come easily."

Loosely quoting congressman and legendary civil rights John Lewis, Becerra advised activists to "get in good trouble. Get in the way. Don't stop."

But he noted the power of the status quo.

"We're talking today about trying to change policing. I was trying to do that 30 years ago. And so it takes time," he said, referring to his years as a lawmaker. "It may not come quickly enough, but I guarantee you, if we don’t push, if we don’t continue to ask and demand, inertia wins."