SACRAMENTO–Today, former San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón joined three sitting District Attorneys to announce their cosponsorship of A.B. 767, a bill that would expand California Victims’ Compensation Board coverage to include victims of police violence. Former San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón, San Francisco District Attorney Boudin, San Joaquin County District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar, and Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton issued a letter in June to the California Victims Compensation Board calling on the Board to expand its coverage to ensure protections for victims of police violence. Each of the four current and former District Attorneys cosponsored A.B. 767, which would put into effect the changes they had previously called on the CalVCB to make.
“Police may face circumstances in which they use force, and that reality creates a conflict of interest since California law also gives them significant influence over determinations of who is and who is not a victim,” said Former District Attorney George Gascón. “When it comes to incidents where police use force, we need to get police out of the business of deciding who is the aggressor and who is the victim.”
“All victims of crime deserve to be made whole. Unfortunately, if someone is a victim of police violence they are largely discouraged and prohibited from applying to the California Victim Compensation Board to obtain services related to counseling or having their medical bills covered,” said Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton. “Moreover, family members are prohibited from receiving funds to cover funeral costs if their loved one dies as a result of an encounter with law enforcement. This much needed change in policy will close a loophole in state law and provide justice by ensuring all victims of crime can get the resources they need and deserve.”
“In June, our office created an internal policy committing to providing compensation to victims of police violence in San Francisco even when California law excludes them,” said San Francisco District Attorney Boudin. “But it isn’t just San Franciscans who should be protected when victimized by police; no one in California should have to rely on a GoFundMe account to pay for funeral expenses after a loved one is killed by law enforcement. AB 767 is necessary to ensure that all Californians who have been victimized by police are compensated for their expenses and given an opportunity to heal.”
“We have to break down the barriers that create two classes of victims,” said San Joaquin County District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar. “Criminal justice is one part public safety and one part healing those who have been harmed. Tools that help people heal should never be denied to victims.”
A.B. 767 expands access to victim compensation and removes barriers faced by victims and witnesses of police violence. The bill seeks to expand eligibility to apply for victims’ compensation from the California Victims’ Compensation Board (“CalVCB”) to ensure that victims of police violence are covered—just like other crime victims.
Under the current VCB regulations, in order to access victims’ compensation benefits, victims and witnesses of crime typically need to provide corroboration from a police report to certify their status as crime victims. Yet officers who inflict violence or excessive force have a vested self-interest in failing to document their own misconduct. The current law perpetuates inherent inequalities in the system as victims of police violence are forced to find other means to pay medical costs and, in the worst cases, funeral expenses. Those victims must fend for themselves to cover expenses caused directly by police violence—including funeral and burial costs. To address this coverage gap, the bill expands acceptable verification documentation to allow victims of police violence to use medical records, mental health documentation and other records to verify their accounts.
A.B. 767 also removes additional obstacles for victims and witnesses of police violence. The bill will permit people who do not cooperate with the police to receive coverage—which will ensure that those who protest police abuse or those who may be fearful of police contact are eligible for victims’ compensation. It will also remedy the current exclusion of victims who are deemed to have contributed to the incident in which they were hurt.
A.B. 767 would also expand the definitions of “crime” and “victim” to ensure that victims of police violence are covered—including incidents in which no one was arrested or charged. The bill also aims to correct the racial inequities that result when there is no currently available compensation for victims of police violence, who are disproportionately people of color.
A.B. 767 is coauthored by Assemblymember Tim Grayson and Assembleymember Sydney Kamlager, and cosponsored by District Attorneys Gascón, Boudin, Salazar, and Becton as well as many other lawmakers and community groups, including Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice. The California Senate Public Safety Committee is scheduled to consider the bill on Friday, August 7, 2020 at 9:00 a.m.
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George Gascón is the Democratic Party’s nominee. He is endorsed by the LA Times, the LA Daily News, U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders, Kamal
Mr. Gascón grew up in Los Angeles after his family immigrated from Cuba. An army veteran, Gascón served as a Los Angeles Police Department Officer for 30 years, rising to the rank of Assistant Chief of Operations. In 2006 he became Chief of Police in Mesa, Arizona, where he stood up to the hateful and anti-immigrant policies of then Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. In 2009, then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom appointed Gascón Chief of Police. Newsom turned to Gascón again in 2011 when he tapped him to be District Attorney to fill the seat vacated by an outgoing Kamala Harris who had been elected Attorney General. During his tenure Gascón implemented reforms that are being duplicated across the country while overseeing violent crime and homicides drop to rates not seen in 50 years. After being elected to two terms, Gascón returned to Los Angeles to care for his elderly mother and to be closer to his two daughters and grandchildren in Long Beach. Gascón is married to Fabiola Kramsky, a three-time Emmy Award winning journalist and recipient of the “Premio Nacional de Periodismo,” the highest recognition given to journalists in Mexico.
For more information about George Gascón go to www.GeorgeGascon.org [http: