SAN JOSE (KPIX) – In a late-night session, the San Jose City Council made sweeping policy changes to the police department. In a 10-1 vote, lawmakers approved changes to the duty manual, including a ban on the use of rubber bullets to control crowds.
The effort to make the changes stems from a protest turned violent when San Jose Police officers fired rubber bullets several times at the crowd gathered outside City Hall on May 31.
“It was really impressive to see community leaders and activists. Then you guys started to use them as target practice,” Scott Largent, a San Jose resident said in the Zoom meeting.
Megan Swift, another San Jose resident added, “San Jose Police Department, you broke my trust. I’ve taught my girls to never call the police department.”
It was a candid and heated debate as the Council looked into changing the way officers handle these situations and the use of less lethal weapons.
“Is it a perfect tool? No. Will innocent people get hurt? Yes,” said Councilman Johnny Khamis,
A major topic was banning rubber bullets being used on crowds, but according to former San Jose Police Sergeant Fredrickk Kotto, it’s not about which weapons officers use, but how they use them.
“I’ve been an unarmed black man more than I’ve been a cop. I get it,” said Kotto, “There has to be change and with the country in so much state of division and anger, there’s got to be a big change and it cannot wait.”
Kotto feels there are three key elements to change. Training and doing background checks on every rookie and veteran officer, including a thorough vetting of the officer’s social media accounts. The final suggestion is to encourage transparency by arming every officer with a body camera.
“If you can afford to put a 600 or a 1000 dollar gun on every officer’s hip, you can afford to put a body camera on everybody’s chest,” said Kotto.
Even with the changes, the council and the police department acknowledge the policies will always need to be re-examined to make sure they are serving their community the best way possible.
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September 16, 2020 at 01:49PM
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Police Reform: SJ Lawmakers Vote To Ban Use Of Rubber Bullets To Control Crowds - CBS San Francisco
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