Assemblymember McCarty Demands Justice for Stephon Clark and Renews Call for Independent Investigations of Officer Involved Shootings

(SACRAMENTO, CA) – Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D- Sacramento) today renewed his call for the creation of an independent unit within the California Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate officer involved shootings.

“I applaud the announcement from Attorney General Xavier Becerra and Sacramento law enforcement officials to have the DOJ independently review the officer involved shooting death of Stephon Clark, who was unarmed and shot at by Sacramento Police Department officers 20 times on March 18, 2018,” said Assemblymember McCarty. “Stephon Clark and his family deserve justice. Sacramento deserves justice. An independent investigation into Mr. Clark’s death is the right thing to do in order to build the public’s confidence in our criminal justice system.”

“While the family of Stephon Clark deserves justice, we should not stop here. California should utilize independent investigations for all officer involved shootings,” continued McCarty. “The State of California leads in so many areas, yet we are not leading when it comes to investigating officer involved incidents of deadly force. It is time that California join states like Wisconsin, Connecticut, New York and Illinois to enact this smart criminal justice reform.”

“Police should not police themselves,” added McCarty. “California can rebuild public trust in law enforcement by requiring independent investigations of officer involved shootings. I am committed to working with my legislative colleagues and Governor Brown to make independent investigations of officer involved shootings a reality and bring justice to families across California.”

In 2015 and 2017 McCarty unsuccessfully authored separate legislative proposals to create units within the DOJ to independently oversee officer involved deadly force investigations. McCarty and other lawmakers will pursue legislation this year seeking to make DOJ independent investigations available to all law enforcement agencies in the state.

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Kevin McCarty represents California’s 7th Assembly District, which include the cities of Sacramento, West Sacramento and unincorporated Sacramento County. McCarty serves as Chair of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance.