In 2018, a light was finally being shined on police misconduct records after decades of secrecy. Sen. Nancy Skinner’s Senate Bill 1421 was landmark legislation that led to in-depth reporting, better informed communities, and a public database of misconduct created by UC Berkeley & Stanford University.

Now, days before the end of the California state Legislature goes into recess, Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco has amended Assembly Bill 1178 to completely undermine access to misconduct records. This – at a time when law enforcement is wearing ski masks and covering their badge numbers. We need more transparency, not less.

AB 1178 has been amended at the last minute to remove narrowing language, previously agreed to, from the bill. These amendments were taken on August 29, when hundreds of

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