San Bernardino, CA- In a recent bill presented to the Senate, law enforcement officers would be required to request permission from their shift supervisor before utilizing their service weapon. The bill, titled “A Second Chance”, is geared towards “preventing police atrocities.” As part of the bill, officers finding themselves in a life threatening situation would first need to call their supervisor and ask before introducing their service weapon into the scenario. Further, the supervisor would then in turn have to call a local civilian committee to discuss the matter so that a community backed decision can be made. These steps would be taken prior to drawing not only their firearm but any other weapon, including tasers, OC spray and batons.
In addition to this, officers approved for use of force will be informed of the number of rounds available for use in their particular situation and they will be required to yell “fire” in between each allotted round.
BNN was able to speak to Senator (and presidential hopeful) Kamala Harris, the bill’s proud sponsor who stated, “This is just a great idea all the way around. Not only will the decreased amount of gun shots help with greenhouse gas emissions, but it will force officers to check their privilege. A person shouldn’t be shot at just because they are trying to kill a police officer.”
Proponents of the new bill say it should be viewed as a type of Community Policing, aimed at improving public relations, particularly in cities with increased amounts of police violence. A local group that identifies as Antifa is tossing their support into the ring and celebrated the bill’s introduction by smashing local parking meters with bats while wearing masks and chanting “Parking is a right so let’s make its left.”
Predictably, many police unions weren’t as ecstatic about the proposed bill. One Chicago area union representative had this to say: “Our officers would be required to take shots, and then ask permission to return fire? Is this Chicago or a UN peacekeeping mission?” Groups of officers were seen carrying in gaming consoles at the start of their shift as they are now only responding to situations where a notarized letter is received in dispatch requesting the police to a location or mitigate circumstances that may touch on requiring to enforce the law.
The Chicago Chief of Police could not be reached for a statement. BNN did reach out to his handler, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, but his office declined to comment.