Amended  IN  Assembly  January 03, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1406

Introduced by Assembly Member Lackey

February 19, 2021

An act to amend Section 1413 of the Penal Code, relating to property crimes. An act to add Section 13660 to the Penal Code, relating to law enforcement agency policies.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1406, as amended, Lackey. Stolen or embezzled property: description. Law enforcement agency policies: carrying of equipment.
Existing law requires law enforcement agencies to maintain a policy on the use of force, as specified. Existing law places certain restrictions on the use of force by law enforcement agencies, including prohibiting the use of a choke hold or carotid restraint.
This bill would require a law enforcement agency that authorizes peace officers to carry an electroshock device, such as a taser or stun gun that is held and operated in a manner similar to a pistol, to require that device to be holstered or otherwise carried on the lateral side of the body opposite to the side that that officer’s firearm is holstered.
By requiring local agencies to create, promulgate, and enforce new policies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing law requires a peace officer to hold property alleged to have been stolen or embezzled when the property comes into the custody of the officer. Existing law requires the clerk or person in charge of the property section for the police or sheriff’s department to enter in a suitable book a description of every article of property alleged to be stolen or embezzled that has been brought into the office or taken from the person of a prisoner.

This bill would state that the clerk or person in charge of the property section may enter that description in a computer database.

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NOYES   Local Program: NOYES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 13660 is added to the Penal Code, to read:

13660.
 (a) Any law enforcement agency that authorizes peace officers to carry an electroshock device shall prohibit that device from being holstered or otherwise carried on the same lateral side of the officer’s body as the officer’s firearm is holstered or otherwise carried.
(b) As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1) “Electroshock device” means a taser, stun gun, or similar weapon that is designed to temporarily incapacitate a person through the controlled delivery of an electric shock, and is designed to be held in a manner similar to a pistol and operated using a finger trigger.
(2) “Law enforcement agency” means any agency or department of the state, or any political subdivision thereof, that employs any peace officer described in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2.

SEC. 2.

 If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
SECTION 1.Section 1413 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
1413.

(a)The clerk or person in charge of the property section for a police department in an incorporated city or town, or for a sheriff’s department in a county, shall enter in a suitable book or computer database a description of every article of property alleged to be stolen or embezzled that has been brought into the office or taken from the person of a prisoner and shall attach a number to each article and make a corresponding entry for each article. The clerk or person in charge of the property section may engrave or embed an identification number in property described in Section 537e for the purposes of that section.

(b)(1)The clerk or person in charge of the property section may, upon satisfactory proof of the ownership of property held pursuant to Section 1407, and upon presentation of proper personal identification, deliver it to the owner. That delivery shall be without prejudice to the state or to the person from whom custody of the property was taken or to any other person who may have a claim against the property. Prior to that delivery, the clerk or person in charge of the property section shall make and retain a complete photographic record of the property. The person to whom property is delivered shall sign, under penalty of perjury, a declaration of ownership, which shall be retained by the clerk or person in charge of the property section. This subdivision does not apply to any property subject to forfeiture under any law. This subdivision does not apply unless the clerk or person in charge of the property section has served upon the person from whom custody of the property was taken a notice of a claim of ownership and a copy of the satisfactory proof of ownership tendered and has allowed that person reasonable opportunity to be heard as to why the property should not be delivered to the person claiming ownership.

(2)If the person upon whom a notice of claim and proof of ownership has been served does not respond asserting a claim to the property within 15 days from the date of receipt of the service, the property may be disposed of in a manner not inconsistent with the provisions of this section.

(c)The magistrate before whom the complaint is laid, or who examines the charge against the person accused of stealing or embezzling the property, or the court before which a trial is had for stealing or embezzling it, shall upon application by the person from whom custody of the property was taken, review the determination of the clerk or person in charge of the property section, and may order the property taken into the custody of the court upon a finding that the person to whom the property was delivered is not entitled to the property. The court shall make its determination in the same manner as a determination is made when the matter is before the court pursuant to Sections 1408 to 1410, inclusive.

(d)The clerk or person in charge of the property section is not liable for damages for any official action performed in good faith pursuant to this section.