Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez released the following statement in response to California Attorney General Kamala Harris’ endorsement of his Assembly Bill 71 and creation of the OpenJustice data initiative:
“Our communities are the safest when there is a trust between law enforcement and the population they serve and protect,” said Rodriguez. “What we have seen over the past few years is that there is a lack of data that can put use-of-force incidents in a broader context. I applaud Attorney General Harris for her leadership and creation of the Justice Dashboard and Open Data Portal. This is a valuable tool that can increase transparency and strengthen trust between law enforcement and the community.
I want to thank the Attorney General for her support of my Assembly Bill 71. I introduced this measure to increase accountability and create a mechanism to get a better sense of how often use-of-force incidents are happening, where they are happening and in what types of situations. This bill fits in perfectly with the Attorney Generals initiative and will help provide context to the numbers.”
Assembly Bill 71 will require law enforcement agencies in California to annually submit to the California Department of Justice, a report on peace officers involved in shootings or incidences where serious bodily injury occurs. The report will collect demographic data and statistics that will track cases where individuals or peace officers are injured or killed.
Assemblymember Rodriguez represents the 52nd Assembly District which includes the cities of Chino, Montclair, Ontario, Pomona and portions of unincorporated Fontana.