LeBron James' Advocacy Group Pushes California to Pass Police Decertification Bill
More Than a Vote, the advocacy group started by LeBron James, is pushing the California Assembly to pass the Kenneth Ross Jr. Police Decertification Act, per LZ Granderson of the Los Angeles Times.
Senate Bill 2 aims to permanently remove police officers who commit serious misconduct while also preventing them from moving to a new department after losing their jobs. Examples of infractions include physical abuse, abuse of power or dishonesty on reports.
California is currently one of only four states that do not have a process for decertifying police officers along with Hawai'i, New Jersey, and Rhode Island.
Per Granderson, More Than a Vote sent a letter to the California Assembly on Thursday calling for the bill to pass:
"More Than a Vote represents many Black athletes who love playing in California. Black athletes who love the culture, the people, and the communities that take them in as their own. That’s why this is so important to an organization like ours. These are the communities that nurtured, protected, and developed the athletes of More Than a Vote and allowed them to live out their dreams."
James helped start the advocacy group ahead of the 2020 presidential election to help fight voter suppression, especially in Black communities. The organization now has support from a long list of current and former Black athletes in a variety of sports, including Damian Lillard, Draymond Green, Patrick Mahomes, DeAndre Hopkins, A'Ja Wilson, Allyson Felix, CC Sabathia and more.
Many of these athletes have been outspoken about the need for police reform, with LeBron especially calling for more accountability:
The bill is named for Kenneth Ross Jr., a 25-year-old Black man shot and killed by police in 2018.
"California is able to revoke the certification or license of bad doctors, bad lawyers, even bad barbers and cosmetologists - you can even recall an elected official - but is unable to decertify police officers who have broken the law and violated public trust," California Senator Steven Bradford, who proposed the bill, said earlier this year.
More Than a Vote is also involved in a campaign to increase police accountability in Cleveland.
