California Senate OKs Badge Confiscation of ‘Bad Police Officers’
LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 14: LAPD officers wear a badge honoring fallen officer Roberto Sanchez during a memorial service at the Cathedral of Our Lady Of Angels May 14, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. Family and fellow officers paid their last respects to Sanchez who was killed while on duty when an SUV crashed into his patrol car on May 3rd in the Harbor City. Photo by Mark Boster-Pool/Getty Images

Three criminal justice reform bills were advanced on Wednesday by California Senate, including badge confiscation of "bad police officers" that could end their careers.

The measure took a year to advance after it failed last year despite the wide public outrage over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of police officers.

No More Bad Apples

Despite the approval of the bill in the Senate, supporters of the bill emphasized that it needs to be defined well in the Assembly to clear up what they called "vague language." They also want to rebalance a disciplinary board to avoid any biases against law enforcement.

According to the U.S. News, Los Angeles-area Democratic Senator Steven Bradford shared that it is easier to lose a license for giving a bad perm compared to killing an unarmed man. He also pointed out that the state already licenses many other professions, from doctors to barbers.

Moreover, the bill proposed by Bradford is designed to stop violence and incidents of police power abuse. Recently, police officers have faced convictions of serious crimes or being fired due to misconduct, including violating someone's civil rights.

Some "bad police officers" also were moved from one police department to another for committing offenses. The bill would also create a mandatory new state license and certification for police officers, which could be revoked once they committed violations.

Meanwhile, the disciplinary measure to the police officers' approved by the California Senate puts the most populous state in the United States to the 46 states that already have ways to decertify officers. Only states like New Jersey, Hawaii, and Rhode Island do not have such a law.

The same bill also puts a new limitation on the immunity of the police from being sued for civil rights abuses, though Bradford had to scale back the said portion of his measure when it nearly failed to clear a Senate Committee. The badge confiscation proposal passed on a 26-9 vote with Republicans opposing the measure. However, none of those who opposed spoke against it.

Furthermore, Bradford, who is Black, shared that the approval is the right thing to do. He said that a no vote on the measure means that it is fine to leave a knee on the neck of Californians, especially people of color, referencing his statement on George Floyd's death, The Associated Press reported.

Also, Bradford shared on the Senate floor his own related experience. He mentioned that he was unjustly stopped by police in the past, listed by name, and he stated that many have died in such a confrontation.

On the other hand, fellow Democratic senators of Bradford echoed the objections of law enforcement organizations that the proposed nine-member disciplinary board of Bradford would contain only two police representatives. They complained that the other seven members of the board will be coming on other professions and with personal backgrounds that oppose police misconduct.

Senator Sydney Kamlager countered that the board would not necessarily be biased if it included people of color. She also added to have some faith in people.