Becerra waffles on transparency + Newsom delivers on DNA + Dignity Health does good

Attorney General shifts his position on transparency – sort of

Attorney General Xavier Becerra has been scorched by critics for his decision to defy Senate Bill 1421. The new law requires law enforcement agencies to release the disciplinary records of officers involved in shootings, crimes or other kinds of misconduct.

Yet Becerra refuses to release Department of Justice records on allegedly misbehaving officers in his own office. Initially, his office suggested the law did not apply to records created before the bill went into effect in January. The bill’s author, state Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, and at least two judges disagree.

We blasted Becerra’s defiance as “a calculated betrayal of public trust and the law.” The San Francisco Chronicle said Becerra “sides with law enforcement against public transparency.” Becerra’s hometown paper, the Los Angeles Times, said the attorney general must “show some courage on police misconduct disclosure.” A story by CALmatters’ Laurel Rosenhall questioned whether progressive Democrats can trust Becerra to “police the police.”

To top it all off, the First Amendment Coalition sued Becerra, saying “he has given the green light to other departments to disregard the new law.”

Last week, Becerra changed course … almost. In an amicus brief submitted to the California Supreme Court, his office wrote: “The plaintiffs in a number of cases now pending in the lower courts have contended that SB 1421 does not apply to records that were created, or that relate to conduct that occurred before the law’s effective date. The Attorney General disagrees with that contention.”

In other words, Becerra believes the law is retroactive. But he’s not actually going to release the records unless forced to do so by a judge. Nice try, attorney general. But until your deeds match your words, it’s still a betrayal of public trust and the law.

Courageous move, Gov. Newsom

Gov. Gavin Newsom did the right thing last week when he granted death row inmate Kevin Cooper’s request for further DNA testing to determine whether evidence supports his claims of innocence. Cooper says he was framed for the 1983 murders of four people – including two children – in Chino Hills.

Both former Gov. Jerry Brown and former Attorney General Kamala Harris dragged their feet on granting Cooper’s request for new testing. After a high profile crusade by New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, Brown agreed to limited new testing in one of his final acts as governor.

Gov. Newsom is going even further, permitting DNA tests on a wider range of evidence found at the crime scene. This makes a lot of sense. After all, if we use DNA to pinpoint suspects in decades-old crimes like those perpetrated by the East Area Rapist and the NorCal Rapist, we must also be willing to use the technology in cases where it might prove innocence.

“I take no position regarding Mr. Cooper’s guilt or innocence at this time,” Newsom wrote in his executive order. “Especially in cases where the government seeks to impose the ultimate punishment of death, I need to be satisfied that all relevant evidence is carefully and fairly examined.”

Most politicians shy away from getting involved in controversial cases like this, but not Newsom. He’s facing up to his power over life and death in an admirable and honorable way. That is courage for a change.

Dignity Health does good

Great news for community health in Sacramento: Dignity Health announced grants totaling over $1 million for 14 local community health projects in Nevada, Sacramento and Yolo counties.

“The grants are going toward assisting the most vulnerable residents of the region: at-risk children, survivors of human and labor trafficking, individuals living with mental illness and dementia, the homeless and ethnic groups with high rates of chronic disease,” according to a Sacramento Bee story by Cathie Anderson.

The grants are part of Dignity Health’s effort to recognize that health starts in communities, not hospitals. What a praiseworthy effort – and real cause for celebration at over a dozen community-based health groups where every penny counts.