Sacramento lawmakers approve change to use-of-force policy, saying it should be ‘last resort’

The Sacramento City Council on Tuesday voted to approve a change to the city’s use-of-force policy, requiring that police officers only use deadly force as a “last resort.”

A citizen oversight group will now have the opportunity to weigh in on the decision, which marks a change from the recommendation for police reform the group submitted, according to The Sacramento Bee.

The policy change, which cleared the city council in an 8-1 vote, calls for peace officers to try to persuade suspects to voluntarily comply, and use tactics and techniques to alleviate situations to prevent the use of force.

“Deadly force shall only be used as a last resort,” Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg wrote in a memorandum.

“Last resort means that peace officers shall use tactics and techniques that may persuade the suspect to voluntarily comply or may mitigate the need to use a higher level of force to resolve the situation safely,” he added.

The change in the city’s policy comes after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of the murder of George Floyd.

Chauvin was captured on video footage last May kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes.

Sergeant Jody Stiger of the Los Angeles Police Department, who was called to the stand by the prosecution in Chauvin’s trial, testified that the force officers used on Floyd during his arrest was “deadly.”