Santa Clara County officials have called on the Sheriff’s Office to explore various use-of-force reforms, such as limiting the use of tear gas and rubber bullets and not hiring officers with a history of excessive force complaints.

After a unanimous vote from the Board of Supervisors, the office must analyze the reforms this summer and report back in August. Aside from potential changes to use of projectiles and hiring practices, the office must make public a list of all armaments now owned by the county, consider limiting the acquisition of military-grade equipment and restructuring emergency responses for mental health-related calls.

“It is important that this be the beginning, not the end of the commitment,” said Supervisor Joe Simitian, who led the proposal. “Too often, folks in the community have seen expressions of concern from their elected officials that fade quietly into the night.”

Longtime Sheriff Laurie Smith operates autonomously as an elected official, but the Board of Supervisors sets the office’s budget and makes policy recommendations. Last fall, supervisors appointed a Southern California-based company to serve as the office’s civilian watchdog after the 2015 beating of a mentally ill inmate.

That watchdog, known as the Office of Correction and Law Enforcement Monitoring, will partner with the sheriff this summer to bring forth policy considerations. All but one of the nationally recognized “8 Can’t Wait” use-of-force reforms are already in place, Smith told supervisors, except banning of the carotid restraint, which will be removed from the office’s list of acceptable practices effective July 12.

“We’re committed to this,” Smith said, adding, “Some of the suggestions are ones that we’d not previously thought about — for instance, listing any kind of equipment we have, so we’re looking forward to that.”

Potential reforms come amid widespread discussion of police brutality after the death of Minneapolis man George Floyd, which sparked weeks-long protests across the Bay Area. Intense criticism of San Jose Police Department’s tactics during protests have since led the City Council to order a departmental review and the mayor to issue a lengthy reform plan — while keeping the department’s $449 million budget intact.

Smith told the supervisors that she’s particularly interested in altering field responses for mental health- or homelessness-related calls, noting that “those are areas law enforcement really don’t belong in.”

“If we could get adequate mental health people in the field, it would be so beneficial. The same thing really applies to homelessness,” she said.

But Smith has yet to sign an information-sharing agreement with OIR Group, the company appointed to serve as the Office of Correction and Law Enforcement Monitoring, to ensure continuing oversight of the office. Simitian urged her not to “slow-walk” the agreement — and also questioned whether the “8 Can’t Wait” reforms have been actually implemented in day-to-day operations.

“It’s time to make it real, and it’s time to bring some sense of urgency to this effort. Indeed, I would say it’s long past time that we bring some sense of urgency,” Simitian said.

Public commenters also pushed for more — specifically, rerouting funds away from the Sheriff’s Office. The adoption of this year’s budget has been delayed until August amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the past fiscal year, Santa Clara County put about $194 million of its $8.1 billion budget toward the office, with about another $237 million toward the Department of Corrections. This year’s recommendation would largely keep those allocations intact, with small reductions to jail staff and overtime.

If sending mental health professionals out in the field becomes a real possibility, Supervisor Dave Cortese asked his colleagues to consider the “grander scheme” of reallocating law enforcement funds.

“Those are discussions I’d like to see as part of restructuring and reform,” Cortese said.