California Appears to be like To Require Officers To Holster Handguns, Stun Weapons on Separate Sides – CBS San Francisco

SACRAMENTO (AP) — California is moving to require police officers to holster their handguns and stun guns on separate sides of their equipment belts to prevent accidental shootings after two people were killed in Oakland and Minnesota.

A bill passed the state Assembly on a 68-0 vote Monday and now heads to the Senate.

READ MORE: San Francisco Eases Indoor COVID Mask Regulations Amid Steady Decline In Omicron Cases

The separation of lethal and less-lethal weapons will make it less likely that officers will confuse the two or inadvertently draw the wrong one, said Republican Assemblyman Tom Lackey.

Officers involved in the high-profile slayings of Oscar Grant in Oakland and more recently Daunte Wright in Minnesota said they thought they were using their Tasers but instead fired their handguns.

READ MORE: San Francisco Police Reveal Final Moments Before Fatal SFO Shooting; Suspect Yells ‘Make Sure You Aim’

Both weapons have pistol grips and are fired with a trigger finger, though they otherwise are physically different.

““This has led to unnecessary catastrophes,” said Lackey, a former California Highway Patrol officer himself. “We aim to prevent future calamities.”

Assemblyman Jim Cooper, a fellow Democrat and former sheriff’s deputy, objected that the bill may go too far for what he said remains a rare error.

MORE NEWS: Native Americans Accuse Gilroy City Leaders Of Ignoring Objections To ‘Mission Bell’

“Someone messed up and did a dumb mistake,” Cooper said. “Everyone doesn’t do that.”