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The Newsom administration is proposing large bonuses to retain juvenile prison employees as the system prepares to close next year.

As the state prepares to close its youth prisons, workers for the Division of Juvenile Justice could receive up to $50,000 bonuses to stay on the job until then, CalMatters has learned.

If approved, the bonus appears to be among the largest offered by the state to retain a group of employees.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration and at least six unions are negotiating the pay bumps, hoping the large incentives will keep the youth facilities staffed until their June 30, 2023, closures.

Since Newsom announced closure plans, employees have started leaving the division for new jobs, fueling a worker shortage.

Under a draft plan obtained by CalMatters, direct care employees — youth prison guards, plumbers, teachers and chaplains — are among the hundreds of Division of Juvenile Justice employees who’d receive up to $50,000 in additional pay. Non-direct care employees, who mostly work for headquarters in Sacramento — deputy directors, executive assistants and nursing consultants, for instance — could receive up to $25,000.

Past retention bonuses for state prison workers have typically hovered between $2,400 and $5,000, according to documents on the California Department of Human Resources’ website.

“Negotiations are still active on this topic, we do not comment on active labor negotiations,” wrote CalHR spokesperson Camille Travis in an email response to CalMatters. “Once the negotiations are completed, the agreements will be posted to the CalHR website.”

According to the State Controller’s Office, 775 people worked at youth facilities as of Jan. 31, 2022. If all of them qualify for the full lump sum, it could cost California more than $38 million. By law, if the agreement is more than $1 million in net costs, the Legislature would have to approve it.

All of the unions representing youth corrections employees in the bonus negotiations donated to stop Newsom from being recalled in last year’s election. The largest contributor was the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, which gave $1.75 million, according to the Secretary of State’s website.

The governor’s office did not respond Wednesday to a request for comment, with a spokesperson citing ongoing negotiations.

This is the second time in two years the state has proposed bonuses for juvenile justice employees. Last year, the state offered a limited group of employees $5,000 annually, which totaled $12,500 if employees stuck around. The new proposal would sweeten the deal, extending the bonuses to more Division of Juvenile Justice workers and quadrupling the maximum amount.

The taxable bonuses would be prorated, according to the draft agreement.

The Division of Juvenile Justice employees would be eligible for all or part of the proposed bonuses, said agency spokesperson Mike Sicilia in an email to CalMatters.

“Recruitment and retention efforts aim to retain our valued staff to ensure our facilities are properly operating, and that DJJ is able to continue giving the youth in our charge the best education and rehabilitative opportunities before the planned closure next year,” wrote Sicilia.

According to the Department of Finance, the state has about 1,000 permanent positions authorized between the four juvenile institutions. Roughly 23% of those positions are vacant, according to a CalMatters analysis of the budget report and data from the Controller’s Office.

N.A. Chaderjian and O. H. Close Youth Correctional Facilities, both in Stockton, have the highest vacancy rates, around 26%. In addition, about 20% of budgeted permanent positions at Pine Grove Conservation Camp and Ventura Youth Correctional Facility are unfilled.

“Recruitment and retention efforts aim to retain our valued staff to ensure our facilities are properly operating.”
— spokesperson for the Division of Juvenile Justice

Contracts with correctional unions are often controversial for their costs. Last year, amid the pandemic, the California Correctional Peace Officers Association negotiated a new contract that faced criticism from the Legislative Analyst’s Office, California’s nonpartisan budget and policy experts.

The office dinged the administration for increasing prison guards’ compensations “without clear justification.” In addition, they noted that the large contract did not address one of the biggest changes facing the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation: impending adult and youth prison closures.

“Depending on how and when the DJJ facilities close, employees could be affected directly, either through relocation to other assignments … or through job loss,” the analyst’s office wrote last year.

“There could be various issues related to the closure of DJJ … that could be topics at the bargaining table. The new agreement does not appear to contain any provisions related to these issues.”

After the analysis, the Legislature overwhelmingly approved the new contract between the state and the union.

Now, the Legislature may have to decide on another financial package for youth prison employees.

The division spokesperson would not say how many staffers would be laid off during the transition. But according to its website, the division is trying to place juvenile employees in other jobs inside the department.

The state is negotiating the final agreement.

California has offered significant incentives in the past to keep state workers from leaving.

In 2003, prison psychiatrists and doctors received an “extra $2,200 a month as a recruitment and retention bonus,” according to a San Francisco Chronicle story. More recently, in 2020, nurses for the Schools of the Blind and Deaf were approved for a monthly bonus of 5% of their normal salary, up to $589.55.

Effort to retain youth corrections employees could cost more than $38 million

The Division of Juvenile Justice plans to close all youth facilities by June 30, 2023. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration and several unions are negotiating pay bonuses to help retain employees within the division. Under a draft plan, as many as 775 employees could see bonuses up to $50,000 based on their job titles, which could cost more than $38 million if implemented. Below is a sample of affected job titles.

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CALmatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

Steve was born on February 10, 1947 as the first and only child of Al and Betty Thompson. As you might expect for the only child of two wonderful people, Steve was both adored and appropriately spoiled by his parents. As a kid, Steve fell in love with Roy Rogers and would often be seen sporting a big cowboy hat and two toy six-guns in deference to his childhood idol. From that point on, his dad would forever call him Roy.

Steve grew up in the best place and in the best time possible. He spent his high school years at Torrance’s South High where his outgoing and charismatic personality allowed him to make friends effortlessly. Everybody loved Steve and Steve loved everybody. That’s how it’s always been. It was during those years that surfing took off in California and Steve was totally into it! Every weekend and every day during the summer, he would meet, surf, and hang out with his buddies at Torrance Beach where the infamous parking lot became “the place” to hit when the surf was bad. It was in that lot that Steve loved to show off the actual record player he had installed in his ’57 Ford by endlessly blasting Elvis “45s” at full volume. It was fabulous.

Steve’s love of both surfing and Elvis never waned. His collection of surfing memorabilia was always on full display as were the tremendous number of Elvis collectibles that he had amassed. Anyone who has ever experienced the always-expanding Elvis Room and the Surfing Room at his Fields Landing pad will understand. But Steve’s excellent taste didn’t stop there. He developed quite a fondness for classic wristwatches and Cadillacs. His crowning automotive achievement was the completion of a lengthy, ground-up restoration of “Stephanie” – a beautiful 1957 Caddie that Steve loved and owned for too many years to count.

But if there was anything that Steve loved more than Elvis and surfing, it was having fun and partying. And he turned doing that into a fine art! His Fourth of July parties at his childhood home in So. Cal. were legendary. They were exceeded only by the twenty-five or so annual extravaganzas he hosted up north known as “The ‘Thon”. People routinely came from far and wide to attend those events, for which he was subsequently immortalized in print as “Big Jake”, the recognized and undisputed master of ceremonies.

At six-foot-five (or as Steve liked to say…five-foot-seventeen, or 4-foot-twenty-nine, depending) Steve was a big guy. But he was big in many ways. He could be boisterous, bold, and brash. Everyone always knew when Big Steve rolled in! “Rip it up!” Yet he was also gentle and bodacious (one of Steve’s favorite words) in compassion, generosity, and kindness to family and friends alike throughout his entire life.

Steve left us far too early. It doesn’t seem right. It doesn’t seem fair. But it does seem selfish to look at it that way. We were all blessed to have known Alfred Steven Thompson for the years that we did. Friendships like that are rare. We should remember and savor the time, the moments, that we shared with him, and robustly celebrate them. Because that’s for sure what Big Steve would want.

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Mychal  W. “Rambo” Evenson
Born September 14, 1961
Passed March 1st, 2022

Mychal passed away in his home on March 1, 2022, at the age of 60.

He was born to Penny Evenson and William “Bill” Kohler and later adopted by William “Bill” Evenson. He is preceded in death by his father, Bill Evenson, ex-wife Debbie Gilmore, and his beloved grandparents Michael and Lucile Pelroy. He is survived by his daughter Tynnese (RuBen) Mein, son Mychal (Tasheena) Evenson, granddaughter Lisa Mein, former stepdaughter Traci Gilmore, his siblings — Willie, Glen, Betty-Gale, Tammy, Christopher, Kim, and Brian — ex-wife Tammie Marsh, mother Penny Evenson, birth father Bill Kohler, and many nieces and nephews.

He enjoyed riding motorcycles, hiking and basketball in his younger years. While playing basketball, he got the nickname “Rambo.” In 1982, Mychal and his friend Jimmy Arnold raced in the Kinetic Grand Championship. Mychal earned the Fickle Fate Award for an accident in which the chain slipped off the sprocket; Mychal reached down to fix the chain, and his weight tipped the machine over. He fell out of the machine, which subsequently ran him over. He recovered overnight and returned the next day, and finished the race.

In 1986 Mychal ran another Kinetic Sculpture Race with friend LeRoy Marsh Jr. During the race, his then-wife was rushed to the hospital for an emergency related to her second pregnancy. The result of the emergency was the birth of their second child and son. As of that race, this was the only known event of a racer leaving the race and returning after a child’s birth. He had to provide photo proof that he had a new baby to return to the race.

The family would like to extend a special “thank you” to Guy and Judy Luther for all the support they gave to Mychal in his last years.

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After describing a pattern of poor communication, delinquent reports and chronically late fund distribution, the Fortuna City Council on Monday unanimously directed staff to send a letter to Humboldt County Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez expressing “no confidence” in her job performance. 

“I know that this has been an issue throughout the county, and I think Fortuna’s voice needs to be heard as well so that our Fortuna voters understand the severity of the position not being efficient,” Mayor Sue Long said upon introducing the agenda item.

City Manager Merritt Perry gave the council a slideshow presentation summarizing impacts to the City of Fortuna — as well as local schools — from the alleged shortcomings of the Auditor-Controller’s Office, which handles a variety of fiscal operations for local cities.

Perry said the city has not received its interest apportionment or investment reports since 2020. The former limits the city’s ability to use interest earnings on city projects while the latter delays the city’s ability to complete annual audits.

Paz Dominguez | File image (screenshot).

The Auditor-Controller’s Office has also been chronically late with property tax allocation and distribution payments, Perry said, and the county’s late submission of Fortuna’s Redevelopment Property Tax Trust Fund Distribution Report jeopardized somewhere between $200,000 and $300,000 $400,000 in redevelopment funds.

Perry said that latter report has now been submitted, though he said the city hasn’t yet received notice that it has been accepted. He added that overdue reporting is impacting cash flow at the Fortuna Union High School District as well as the Fortuna Elementary School District.

Long said the Fortuna Veterans, VFW Post 2207, “have had a really tough time getting their money, and they said every time they get a check it’s because [Second District] Supervisor [Michelle] Bushnell ran interference and got them paid.”

That organization operates on a shoestring budget, she added, “and to see them struggle is just frustrating.”

Fortuna Finance Director Aaron Felmlee said it has been difficult to get questions answered directly by Paz Dominguez. Staff in the office is usually “responsive and helpful,” he said, but he’s had “very limited or no direct communication” with the auditor-controller herself.

Bushnell, who represents the Fortuna-surrounding Second District on the Board of Supervisors, Zoomed in to the meeting and offered the council a timeline from her own perspective. She told the council about the board’s own November 22 vote of “no confidence” in Paz Dominguez, which passed by a vote of 3-2, as well as the Fortuna Union High School’s “no confidence” vote in the auditor-controller. 

“I really do believe a lot of the issues stem from the lack of communication,” Bushnell said.

Councilmember Mike Losey referenced a recent message to Paz Dominguez from the California Attorney General’s Office regarding a long-overdue Financial Transactions Report.

“I really think that it’s pretty clear that the auditor-controller’s abilities are substantially lacking, and the issues are not because of a conflict of personality, a personal grudge or miscommunication,” Losey said.

Fellow councilmember Mike Johnson agreed, saying he was in favor of sending a letter of “no confidence.”

Mayor Pro Tem Tami Trent said some Fortuna residents who work for the county haven’t received their paychecks on time. “I definitely think we should go forward with this [letter] also,” she said.

Ultimately, all five board members expressed the same opinion, and they directed Perry to draft the letter and send it as soon as possible.

Reached via email on Tuesday, Paz Dominguez said she didn’t have any comment on the vote in Fortuna, though she added, “Should any Fortuna City Councilpeople wish to communicate or work with the A-C office, they are welcome to.”

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The Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) is looking for feedback from the cannabis community about proposed changes to California’s cannabis regulatory framework.

The proposal seeks to simplify and clarify emergency regulations that were adopted by the DCC in September 2021 after the state consolidated cannabis regulation into a single agency. 

Previously, cannabis oversight was split among three state agencies. The California Department of Food and Agriculture regulated cultivation, the Department of Public Health regulated manufacturing, and the Bureau of Cannabis Control regulated retail, distribution and testing.

During an informational webinar last week, Christina Dempsey, Deputy Director of Policy and Research for the DCC, said there are two types of changes in the proposal.

“The first is the regulation package which incorporates, through the regular rulemaking process, any changes that we made during the emergency regulation process in the fall,” she said. “The regulation package that the department adopted as emergency in September needs to be adopted through the regular rulemaking process so that it doesn’t expire. …There are also additional changes that we’ve incorporated that serve to simplify, streamline and further strengthen the cannabis regulatory framework in California.”

The newly released regulatory modifications focus on cannabis cultivation, distribution, manufacturing, retail, events and testing laboratories.

“I think probably the biggest thing that jumped out to me in the DCC’s proposal are some of the changes to track and trace,” Ross Gordon, policy director at the Humboldt County Growers Alliance (HCGA) and policy chair at the Origins Council, told the Outpost. “The way track and trace has been implemented is definitely a big thorn in the side for a lot of farmers, particularly the requirement to tag every single cannabis plant. …On average, we think it probably takes five people three to four days of labor to tag a half an acre farm.”

The proposal would allow the weight of the total harvest batch to be entered in track and trace rather than requiring individual plant weights.

“Rather than having to weigh every single plant individually, they can now weigh those plants collectively which is something that a lot of people are going to be happy to see,” Gordon said. “We’re glad to see that but we’d like to see it go further.”

He also raised concern for plastic waste associated with track and trace. “Putting a plastic tag on every plant [generates] about 71 tons of plastic waste per year and that’s effectively non-recyclable.”

The proposal would also loosen up rules surrounding cannabis events by allowing cannabis goods to be displayed by all participating licensees and removing the requirement for specific retail employees to be identified prior to the event, according to the DCC.

“We were pretty happy to see some change to the regulatory rules around events and clarifying that farmers are able to display their own product at events and able to show those directly to consumers,” Gordon said. “The regulations don’t allow farmers to sell their product directly to consumers at events. We’re still working on legislation to address that…but at the very least there are improvements to clarify that it’s possible to display those products.”

AB 2691, introduced by North Coast Assemblymember Jim Wood (D-Santa Rosa) in February, would authorize the DCC to issue temporary event retail licenses that would open the door for cannabis cultivators to sell their product directly to consumers at cannabis events like the Emerald Cup. As it stands, small-scale cultivators can participate in such events, but they cannot sell directly to the buyer.

“It’s important to keep in mind that there are certain things which can be addressed through regulation by the DCC, and then there are other things that have to be addressed by the state legislature,” Gordon noted. “The DCC doesn’t have the power, for example, to change tax rates. The legislature needs to take leadership on that.”

State Senator Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) introduced legislation last month to eliminate the state cannabis cultivation tax which increased from $154.40 per flower per dry-weight pound to $161.28 at the beginning of this year, according to the state Department of Tax and Fee Administration. 

SB 1074 would discontinue the cultivation tax and, instead, increase the state excise tax – a 15% tax imposed upon retail purchasers of cannabis or cannabis products – in an attempt to reduce the disproportionate impact to small farmers. “The bill would increase, from July 1, 2025, until July 1, 2026, the excise tax by an additional percentage that the Department of Finance estimates will generate half the amount of revenue that would have been collected pursuant to the cultivation tax…” according to the text of the bill.

While this is good news for struggling cannabis farmers, Gordon said he had hoped the proposed regulations would offer more leniency for farmers looking to temporarily scale back their crop or take a year off of farming altogether.

“That’s something that in any other form of agriculture is very common when you have a market crash like we have in cannabis or when you have drought conditions which we’re likely to continue to see in 2022,” he said. “…Farmers either have to renew their license for a year and pay their full licensing fee or, if they don’t renew their license, they essentially permanently forfeit their license and if they want to get it back they have to reapply from square one.”

All comments on the proposed regulations must be received by April 19, 2022, at 5 p.m. It is anticipated that the proposed regulations will become effective in fall 2022 if approved. 

“Please be specific and share a suggestion or alternative,” Dempsey said. “Often we hear people say they don’t like what we’ve proposed, but they then don’t go on to tell us what another option would be. That information is really important for us.”

Comments can be emailed to publiccomment@cannabis.ca.gov or sent by mail to DCC Legal Affairs Division, 2920 Kilgore Road, Rancho Cordova, CA 95670.

More information on the proposed regulations can be found here.

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More than a month after the university formerly known as Humboldt State officially became California Polytechnic University, Humboldt – or “Cal Poly Humboldt” for short – the branding is finally catching up with the name, with the majority of the campus entrance signs now displaying the new moniker.

Two of the university’s painters have been working since last week to update the signs, removing the outdated letters, spackling and painting over the old letter markings and attaching the new name. Since the full name is a little long, the university opted to go with the “Cal Poly Humboldt” version.

The sign on the west side of 14th and B Streets

So far, the two signs on 14th and B Streets, the one on LK Wood Boulevard and Sunset Avenue and the sign on LK Wood and Granite Avenue have all been completed. Still unfinished is the main gate on LK Wood and 14th Street. The painters were still hard at work Wednesday morning, prepping the gateway signs for the new letters, which will surely be placed in the next couple of days.

Whether this latest development fills you with awe, pride or overwhelming nostalgia, (or maybe you don’t really care at all), we can at least agree that it will be less confusing for new students or visiting parents searching for the school. And maybe it will it make it a little easier for us locals to get used to calling it “Cal Poly Humboldt” instead of HSU.

Check out more photos of the progress below.

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From the District Attorney’s Office:

DA Maggie Fleming has completed her review of the investigation regarding the September 9, 2021 California Highway Patrol (CHP) Officer-involved shooting of 35-year-old Charles David Chivrell. A Humboldt County Critical Incident Team, with members from the Eureka Police Department, Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office, Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department, Arcata Police Department (APD), CHP, and Ferndale Police Department, conducted the investigation. The Humboldt County Coroner’s Office and the California Department of Justice (DOJ) – Bureau of Forensic Services also contributed to the investigation.

The investigation revealed that the incident began at approximately 10:47 am when a citizen called 911 to report a man walking with a firearm and a briefcase in the roadway near the intersection of Heindon Road and Miller Lane.

CHP and APD officers responded to that area and began looking for the man described in the call. CHP Officers Griffin and Cornejo, traveling in one vehicle, located Mr. Chivrell on Miller Lane. As the officers first approached Mr. Chivrell, they observed a pistol in a holster on his right thigh. Their vehicle’s camera recorded their initial interaction with him. Using the vehicle’s loudspeaker, one of the CHP officers asked Mr. Chivrell to stop walking and speak with them. Mr. Chivrell refused to comply and continued to walk away. At various points he turned to face the CHP vehicle, sometimes raising his hands, but then again walking away. The officers repeatedly ordered Mr. Chivrell to drop what he carried and come to the patrol vehicle. At one point, Mr. Chivrell removed his leather jacket, dropped it and continued walking and carrying his briefcase. The officers repeatedly ordered him to show his hands. This interaction continued for more than 10 minutes. During that time, Mr. Chivrell stated he was going to McKinleyville “…to the only motel and run out the *expletive* Mexicans that are running the show and spending all the money.” When Officer Cornejo responded by saying “We just want to talk,” Mr. Chivrell yelled to him, “Hey go back to Mexico, you don’t have papers here.”

At another point he yelled and simulated drawing his gun. While following him at a distance the officers saw other vehicles and people in the area. At one point they saw a person talking with someone parked in a car and motioned for them to get out of the area. After a bicyclist went by the officers discussed concerns for public safety. Given the safety concerns that included nearby houses, the loss of visibility that an upcoming curve would create, and Mr. Chivrell’s threatening statements and erratic behavior, the officers chose to deploy a pepperball launcher in a straight section of road. By using the pepperball launcher, the officers sought to incapacitate Mr. Chivrellso that he could be safely apprehended: the contents of the pepperballs cause irritation of the eyes, nose and throat. Because officers could not safely approach Mr. Chivrell, the pepperball launcher was the only non-lethal option.

Multiple officers reported the following sequence of subsequent events. APD Sergeant Hoffman - who had earlier moved to the CHP patrol vehicle - exited the vehicle to deploy the pepperball launcher. Standing next to the front passenger seat with the vehicle door open, he fired pepperballs at Mr. Chivrell; several pepperballs hit Chivrell’s back and legs. Sergeant Hoffman heard an officer say that the man was drawing his gun and looked to see the man raising his right arm while turning his body towards the officers. He then heard a gunshot and heard the bullet go past his head. Sergeant Hoffman was aware that the CHP officer to his right then fired his rifle and he observed Mr. Chivrell go to the ground.

Officer Cornejo stated that Sergeant Hoffman exited to fire the pepperball launcher and Officer Griffin stood nearby to provide cover with his rifle. As Sergeant Hoffman fired pepperballs, Officer Cornejo exited the driver’s side of the CHP vehicle and saw the pepperballs hit Mr. Chivrell, and then saw Mr. Chivrell reach for, and draw his pistol from a holster. Officer Cornejo heard a shot and moved for cover. He then saw Mr. Chivrell on the ground.

Officer Griffin described the entire sequence of events in the same way. When pepperballs hit Mr. Chivrell, Officer Griffin saw Mr. Chivrell reach down, draw the pistol and raise it toward the officers. Officer Griffin fired one round from his rifle and saw the man fall to the ground. Officer Griffin said he fired his rifle because he believed the man would shoot them.

APD Officer Rodes also described following in his patrol vehicle behind the CHP vehicle and the ongoing efforts to engage Mr. Chivrell. As officers followed Mr. Chivrell for about a mile, several times officers got out of their vehicles and spoke to Mr. Chivrell when he stopped walking, but then resumed their slow pursuit by vehicle when he resumed walking. When the opportunity arose to deploy the pepperball launcher, Officer Rodes - who was directly next to Officer Cornejo on the driver’s side of the CHP vehicle - saw the pepperballs strike Mr. Chivrell, saw Mr. Chivrell remove his pistol from the holster, level the pistol at the officers and fire one round that Officer Rodes heard “whiz” nearby. Very close in time, he heard a second round fired from the direction of the right-hand side of the CHP vehicle and then saw Mr. Chivrell go to the ground.

Officers ordered Mr. Chivrell to show his hands, then approached him and saw his revolver immediately on his right. Officers then began life-saving efforts including CPR. Medical personnel arrived and continued life-saving measures while transporting Mr. Chivrell to Mad River Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased on arrival.

In an analysis of the firearm recovered near Mr. Chivrell, a DOJ Senior Criminalist found the hammer down on one expended cartridge case and 5 intact cartridges in the remaining chambers. DOJ’s examination of the CHP patrol vehicle revealed a single bullet strike to the left-hand side of the windshield in front of the driver’s seat and glass fragments on the dashboard. DOJ also found in the pasture next to the roadway a single expended cartridge that the Senior Criminalist determined had been fired from the rifle used by the CHP officer.

An autopsy by Dr. Olson on September 11 revealed Mr. Chivrell died from a single bullet wound that entered the left side of his face below his eye and exited the right side of his neck. The bullet path is consistent with the observations of the officers that Mr. Chivrell turned as he drew his weapon and fired at them. A toxicology screen revealed that Mr. Chivrell had methamphetamine and THC in his system. Investigators also found methamphetamine in the briefcase Mr. Chivrell carried during the incident.

The California Penal Code describes justifiable homicide at Section 196:

Homicide is justifiable when committed by peace officers and those acting by their command in their aid and assistance, under either of the following circumstances:

(a)In obedience to any judgment of a competent court.

(b)When the homicide results from a peace officer’s use of force that is in compliance with Section 835a.

The California State Legislature made significant additions to Penal Code Section 835a in 2019 (Assembly Bill 392) which now states:

Section 835a. Reasonable force to effect arrest; Resistance

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1) That the authority to use physical force, conferred on peace officers by this section, is a serious responsibility that shall be exercised judiciously and with respect for human rights and dignity and for the sanctity of every human life. The Legislature further finds and declares that every person has a right to be free from excessive use of force by officers acting under color of law.

(2) As set forth below, it is the intent of the Legislature that peace officers use deadly force only when necessary in defense of human life. In determining whether deadly force is necessary, officers shall evaluate each situation in light of the particular circumstances of each case, and shall use other available resources and techniques if reasonably safe and feasible to an objectively reasonable officer.

(3) That the decision by a peace officer to use force shall be evaluated carefully and thoroughly, in a manner that reflects the gravity of that authority and the serious consequences of the use of force by peace officers, in order to ensure that officers use force consistent with law and agency policies.

(4) That the decision by a peace officer to use force shall be evaluated from the perspective of a reasonable officer in the same situation, based on the totality of the circumstances known to or perceived by the officer at the time, rather than with the benefit of hindsight, and that the totality of the circumstances shall account for occasions when officers may be forced to make quick judgments about using force.

(5) That individuals with physical, mental health, developmental, or intellectual disabilities are significantly more likely to experience greater levels of physical force during police interactions, as their disability may affect their ability to understand or comply with commands from peace officers. It is estimated that individuals with disabilities are involved in between one-third and one- half of all fatal encounters with law enforcement.

(b) Any peace officer who has reasonable cause to believe that the person to be arrested has committed a public offense may use objectively reasonable force to effect the arrest, to prevent escape, or to overcome resistance.

(c)(1) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), a peace officer is justified in using deadly force upon another person only when the officer reasonably believes, based on the totality of the circumstances, that such force is necessary for either of the following reasons:

(A) To defend against an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to the officer or to another person.

(B) To apprehend a fleeing person for any felony that threatened or resulted in death or serious bodily injury, if the officer reasonably believes that the person will cause death or serious bodily injury to another unless immediately apprehended. Where feasible, a peace officer shall, prior to the use of force, make reasonable efforts to identify themselves as a peace officer and to warn that deadly force may be used, unless the officer has objectively reasonable grounds to believe the person is aware of those facts.

(2) A peace officer shall not use deadly force against a person based on the danger that person poses to themselves, if an objectively reasonable officer would believe the person does not pose an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to the peace officer or to another person.

(d) A peace officer who makes or attempts to make an arrest need not retreat or desist from their efforts by reason of the resistance or threatened resistance of the person being arrested. A peace officer shall not be deemed an aggressor or lose the right to self-defense by the use of objectively reasonable force in compliance with subdivisions (b) and (c) to effect the arrest or to prevent escape or to overcome resistance. For the purposes of this subdivision, “retreat” does not mean tactical repositioning or other de-escalation tactics.

(e) For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) “Deadly force” means any use of force that creates a substantial risk of causing death or serious bodily injury, including, but not limited to, the discharge of a firearm.

(2) A threat of death or serious bodily injury is “imminent” when, based on the totality of the circumstances, a reasonable officer in the same situation would believe that a person has the present ability, opportunity, and apparent intent to immediately cause death or serious bodily injury to the peace officer or another person. An imminent harm is not merely a fear of future harm, no matter how great the fear and no matter how great the likelihood of the harm, but is one that, from appearances, must be instantly confronted and addressed.

(3) “Totality of the circumstances” means all facts known to the peace officer at the time, including the conduct of the officer and the subject leading up to the use of deadly force.

The District Attorney has concluded the shooting was legally justified, in that the officers’ actions complied with California Penal Code Section 835a. Once Mr. Chivrell pointed and fired his gun at them, the officers reasonably believed they were in imminent danger of being killed or suffering great bodily injury.

The District Attorney has notified Mr. Chivrell’s family of her decision.