Stall tactics. Distractions. Lobbying. How police reform was derailed in California

People with “I Can’t Breathe” signs and masks attend a protest over the death of George Floyd in Chicago, May 30, 2020. For weeks prior, police reform bills were points of contention — even among Democratic legislators publicly sympathetic to the cause but privately circumspect, often under the pressure of intense lobbying by law enforcement interests. “Many of us didn’t really foresee as much opposition as we wound up getting,” said Melina Abdullah, founder of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, which co- After George Floyd was killed in Minnesota in May, protests shook California and the country, spurring the police reform proposals. He said in recent weeks, he has seen grow at the Capitol “an atmosphere and environment that meets narrative, and it is basically, ‘Not now.’ So, OK, they won that round, not now.” Skinner said she has seen some movement on the part of police labor groups, but thinks the broader “universe” of law enforcement interests at the Capitol, combining unions, district attorneys associations and sheriffs, when united, are a formidable power. The group, he added, “remains committed to working with our legislators to develop and champion new policies that will raise recruitment standards, improve transparency and place officers in a better position to serve our communities.” Police unions suffered a setback last year when lawmakers passed a bill to redefine when officers can use deadly force.