Governor Newsom Sign AB572 - Protect Grieving Families From Coercive Police Interrogations
The Issue
We support AB 572 and URGE Governor Newsom to sign AB 572 into California law.
This bill comes directly from the experiences of Silicon Valley De-Bug families who have lost loved ones to police.
Deceiving families in their most vulnerable moments is wrong!
Moments after loved ones are injured or killed by police, families are often “interviewed” by police who intentionally withhold the status of their loved one until the end of the ‘interview’. What was initially thought of as an isolated experience by families during some of the darkest moments of their lives turned out to be a police interrogation tactic espoused by a private company called Lexipol that trains police officers on how to squeeze information from families to protect police from lawsuits and any accountability.
“You got about 5, 10, 30 minutes to get out there before word gets back on the street -- that bad guy is either in the hospital, dead, jail or whatever.”
-- Bruce Praet, cofounder of Lexipol, in a training video instructing detectives to approach a mom before she learns her son has been killed by police.
An investigative report by journalist Brian Howey further exposed this larger statewide practice in a piece published by the Los Angeles Times in March of 2023
Hear from families who have been harmed by this manipulative practice:
"When my son was killed, I was told that if I went to the police station with them, I'd be able to see him. It may sound ridiculous to some people but l just wanted to hug him, just one more time. When I got to the police station, I was interrogated and recorded without my knowledge or consent. Even after the interrogation, I still wasn't allowed to see my son." SHARON WATKINS - Mother of Phillip Watkins, killed by San Jose Police on February 11, 2015
"Police often use information gathered against us and our loved ones in a court of law and to vilify our loved ones in the court of public opinion. This bill will protect families from further harm and injury." JIM SHOWMAN - Father of Diana Showman, killed by San Jose Police on August 14, 2014
"I was 19 when my father was killed by police and 20 years later I am still affected by the way law enforcement treated me and my family. Police told us they would tell us what happened to my father if we cooperated with them. They separated us into individual rooms and interrogated us. They tried to get us to say my father was depressed and was using drugs. When we did not go along with their narrative, they ended the interview and told us they could not give any details of the case." CORINA CARDENAS - Daughter of Rudy Cardenas, killed by State DEA Agent Michael Walker on February 17, 2004
"The DA investigators told us they were investigating the case, and I understood they were going to be looking into the wrongful actions of the officers who killed David. Instead, they had a plan to extrapolate information about David that would be used as evidence that his killing was justified, to fit a standardized narrative of "suicide by cop." Bruce Praet, the defense lawyer for the city of Buena Park and co-founder of Lexipol, was able to pick and choose my words from the DA investigation to fit his fabrication of who David was, in an attempt to convince the jury that "David was going to die that day" regardless of the negligent actions of those killer cops.” SAM SULLIVAN - Sibling of David Sullivan, killed by Buena Park Police on August 19, 2019
AB 572 recognizes that this deceptive interrogation practice by Lexipol was wrong. It will protect already vulnerable families, in the most vulnerable communities, during the darkest moments of their lives.
Before any initial interview of a family member of a person who has been killed or seriously injured by police, the officer or district attorney has to:
- Identify themselves to the family member
- Inform the family member of the status of their loved one
- Inform the family of the nature of the investigation
- Inform the family that they can have a trusted support person during the interview, and there is a choice of whether they can go to the police station or not for the interview.
This policy becomes part of an officer’s duty manual and/or their policies that can be subject to discipline and/or civil penalties.
Most significantly - it prevents the use of coercion or lies during the interview, or to get the interview. This is a pretty historic change.
STAY INVOLVED!
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TESTIMONIES, GO TO:
https://www.protectyourpeoplesj.org/ab572
Thank you to the authors and coauthors for your support on this bill.
AB 572 Authored by Assembly Member Kalra
(Assembly Member Coauthors: Bonta, Bryan, Elhawary, Lee, and Sharp-Collins)
(Senator Coauthors: Cortese)
1,170
The Issue
We support AB 572 and URGE Governor Newsom to sign AB 572 into California law.
This bill comes directly from the experiences of Silicon Valley De-Bug families who have lost loved ones to police.
Deceiving families in their most vulnerable moments is wrong!
Moments after loved ones are injured or killed by police, families are often “interviewed” by police who intentionally withhold the status of their loved one until the end of the ‘interview’. What was initially thought of as an isolated experience by families during some of the darkest moments of their lives turned out to be a police interrogation tactic espoused by a private company called Lexipol that trains police officers on how to squeeze information from families to protect police from lawsuits and any accountability.
“You got about 5, 10, 30 minutes to get out there before word gets back on the street -- that bad guy is either in the hospital, dead, jail or whatever.”
-- Bruce Praet, cofounder of Lexipol, in a training video instructing detectives to approach a mom before she learns her son has been killed by police.
An investigative report by journalist Brian Howey further exposed this larger statewide practice in a piece published by the Los Angeles Times in March of 2023
Hear from families who have been harmed by this manipulative practice:
"When my son was killed, I was told that if I went to the police station with them, I'd be able to see him. It may sound ridiculous to some people but l just wanted to hug him, just one more time. When I got to the police station, I was interrogated and recorded without my knowledge or consent. Even after the interrogation, I still wasn't allowed to see my son." SHARON WATKINS - Mother of Phillip Watkins, killed by San Jose Police on February 11, 2015
"Police often use information gathered against us and our loved ones in a court of law and to vilify our loved ones in the court of public opinion. This bill will protect families from further harm and injury." JIM SHOWMAN - Father of Diana Showman, killed by San Jose Police on August 14, 2014
"I was 19 when my father was killed by police and 20 years later I am still affected by the way law enforcement treated me and my family. Police told us they would tell us what happened to my father if we cooperated with them. They separated us into individual rooms and interrogated us. They tried to get us to say my father was depressed and was using drugs. When we did not go along with their narrative, they ended the interview and told us they could not give any details of the case." CORINA CARDENAS - Daughter of Rudy Cardenas, killed by State DEA Agent Michael Walker on February 17, 2004
"The DA investigators told us they were investigating the case, and I understood they were going to be looking into the wrongful actions of the officers who killed David. Instead, they had a plan to extrapolate information about David that would be used as evidence that his killing was justified, to fit a standardized narrative of "suicide by cop." Bruce Praet, the defense lawyer for the city of Buena Park and co-founder of Lexipol, was able to pick and choose my words from the DA investigation to fit his fabrication of who David was, in an attempt to convince the jury that "David was going to die that day" regardless of the negligent actions of those killer cops.” SAM SULLIVAN - Sibling of David Sullivan, killed by Buena Park Police on August 19, 2019
AB 572 recognizes that this deceptive interrogation practice by Lexipol was wrong. It will protect already vulnerable families, in the most vulnerable communities, during the darkest moments of their lives.
Before any initial interview of a family member of a person who has been killed or seriously injured by police, the officer or district attorney has to:
- Identify themselves to the family member
- Inform the family member of the status of their loved one
- Inform the family of the nature of the investigation
- Inform the family that they can have a trusted support person during the interview, and there is a choice of whether they can go to the police station or not for the interview.
This policy becomes part of an officer’s duty manual and/or their policies that can be subject to discipline and/or civil penalties.
Most significantly - it prevents the use of coercion or lies during the interview, or to get the interview. This is a pretty historic change.
STAY INVOLVED!
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TESTIMONIES, GO TO:
https://www.protectyourpeoplesj.org/ab572
Thank you to the authors and coauthors for your support on this bill.
AB 572 Authored by Assembly Member Kalra
(Assembly Member Coauthors: Bonta, Bryan, Elhawary, Lee, and Sharp-Collins)
(Senator Coauthors: Cortese)
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Petition created on September 22, 2025