California Police Chief- Fall 2013 CPCA_2018_Winter Magazine-FINAL | Page 4

WELCOME FROM PRESIDENT SWING
WELCOME
to the
Winter 2018 Edition of the California
Police Chief Magazine. Since our last
edition in the Spring, a lot has occurred
and more has been put into motion, but
before I get to those updates, I just want to take an opportunity
to highlight our incredible staff at the California Police Chiefs
Association. Our staff, led by Executive Director Leslie McGill,
continues to put the necessary pieces together to ensure that
CPCA lives up to our mission statement of Serving as the Voice
of and Resource of Choice for California’s Municipal Police
Chiefs. Sara, Meagan, Shannon, Jonathan Muñoz and Brittany
all deserve our appreciation for everything they do for our association. By the time this magazine
reaches you, Jonathan Feldman will have transitioned from our in-house lobbyist to a contract
lobbyist working for a well-respected firm in Sacramento but will continue to represent our
association at the Capitol.
Our work to advance the narrative of law enforcement
continues with our workgroup and also the newly devel-
oped regional training “Creating a Communication Strate-
gy That Works in Your Community.” This one-day training,
facilitated by San Luis Obispo Chief Deanna Cantrell and
Laura Cole from Cole Pro Media, began in Chico on No-
vember 8 and is followed by five other sessions throughout
the state. Participants of this experiential training will come
away with effective strategies for crisis communication,
community meetings and hot button topics including
homelessness, mental health and officer use of force.
One of our biggest legislative victories this year was
stopping the fast-moving train known as AB 931. If passed
by the Legislature and signed by the Governor, this bill
would have elevated the standard of use of force beyond
Graham v. Connor and increased the criminal liability for
officers faced with split-second life and death decisions.
Our ability to stop this bill, in spite of strong emotionally
based advocacy, served as a reminder of the influence our
profession has when labor and management work towards
a combined goal. We know that the political landscape in
Sacramento have changed dramatically after the results
of the Gubernatorial and Attorney General elections in
November; however, regardless the outcome, our mutual
commitment is to keep the use of force standard at current
case law and to not increase the criminal liability for peace
officers in our state. On a related note, a coalition of law
enforcement groups have formed a workgroup to devel-
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California Police Chief | www.californiapolicechiefs.org
op and present alternate UOF language knowing that the
authors plan to bring their similar language back next year.
We will use this language to steer the Legislature towards
our proposal and away from anything that is harmful to
our profession.
Unfortunately, due to late signature counting, the
Reducing Crime and Keeping California Safe Act of 2018
will be presented to voters in 2020. The two-year delay will
provide more examples to share when the campaign gets
started. I encourage you to make note of those examples as
they are essential in painting the fullest picture for voters
illustrating how the risk-reward scale of crime now favors
criminal activity in a post-sentencing reform California.
It is an honor and a pleasure to serve the members of
the California Police Chiefs Association as your President
and I want to thank all of you for your leadership and com-
mitment to public safety for our respective communities.
I hope you enjoy this edition and I look forward to
seeing you all in Santa Clara, March 6-10 for our Annual
Training Symposium.
Sincerely,
David Swing
David Swing
California Police Chiefs Association President