Sacramento Community Police Review Commission Meeting

Date: Monday, September 15, 2025
Time: 1:45 PM (start), extended past 7:30 PM
Location: City Hall, 915 I Street, Sacramento, CA

This meeting of the Sacramento Community Police Review Commission (CPRC) included a consent calendar, reports from three ad-hoc committees, a discussion of the 2026 work plan, commissioner outreach methods, a report-back on the City Council's August 12, 2025 approval of the Military Equipment Use (MEU) policy, and a review of the commission's follow-up log. Commissioners debated the proper way to represent past commission recommendations in public forums and agreed to refresh the follow-up log.

Consent Calendar

• Approval of Minutes (August 11, 2025): Passed 7-0-1 (Commissioner Griggs abstained, having missed the previous meeting).

Public Comments & Testimony

• Keon Bliss (on Item 2 and 5): Expressed strong support for the commission's previous work, stating that 178 recommendations from 2018-2023 remained relevant. Alleged a conflict of interest against Commissioner Corps, noting her son serves in the Sacramento Police Department and her close relationship with the Police Officers Association. Urged the commission not to discard past recommendations. In later comments on Item 5, opposed the MEU policy approval, citing $555,000 in new equipment purchases, including 29 drones ($229,000) and 600,000 assault rifle rounds ($232,000), arguing this violated state law (AB 481) and that the council had ignored the commission's 2022 recommendation to decouple purchases from policy approval.
• Henry Harry (on Item 4): Expressed frustration that the commission could not respond to public comments in real time, and suggested that the commission's ideas-and-questions section should occur after public comments to allow immediate follow-up.
• Public Speaker (Matters Not on Agenda): Proposed that the Police Department adopt a policy requiring the mayor to review all serious disciplinary actions before finalization, to prevent light discipline for egregious behavior.
• Keon Bliss (Matters Not on Agenda): Criticized the City Council for accepting over $91,000 in campaign contributions from the Sacramento Police Officers Association, and opposed the renewal of the ShotSpotter contract ($2.6 million over five years), calling it ineffective and costly, citing a 73% false-alert rate and only 4% of alerts leading to arrests.

Discussion Items

• Item 2: Ad Hoc Committee Report Back

  • Engagement and Function Committee (Commissioner Sample): Reported on youth engagement, thanked Commissioner Brookins, and discussed plans to showcase positive police-community relations.
  • Community Policing and Response Efficiency Committee (Commissioner Johnson): Focused on traffic safety, invited SPD input, and noted an 18-page SPD traffic enforcement report.
  • Resource Allocation and Efficiency Committee (Vice Chair Buen Rostro): Discussed requesting a police budget presentation, researching metrics from other departments, and revisiting a 2022 recommendation to decouple MEU policy approval from equipment purchases. This sparked a debate: Commissioner Corps argued that the commission had unanimously agreed not to revisit past recommendations; Vice Chair Buen Rostro clarified that he spoke as an individual at the City Council and did not misrepresent the commission, but apologized for not clarifying that the recommendation was not current. The commission agreed that any past recommendations must be brought forward as new 2026 proposals.
  • Public Comment: Keon Bliss reiterated that no vote had been taken to discard past recommendations, and accused Commissioner Corps of obfuscation.

• Item 3: Discussion on Proposed Topics and Schedule for a 2026 Work Plan

  • Discussed timeline: work plan to be finalized by November 2025 or January 2026.
  • Suggestions included youth engagement (K-12) and partnerships with the Police Athletic League.
  • Volunteers: Commissioners Sample and Lewis agreed to assist the chair and vice chair in drafting the plan. SPD offered to participate in meetings to answer questions.

• Item 4: Discussion on Commissioner Outreach Methods

  • Explored setting up a commission email address for public inquiries. SPD staff offered to check with IT on feasibility.
  • Clarified that commissioners cannot respond to public comments in real time but can propose future agenda items during the commissioner comments section.
  • No action taken; discussion only.

• Item 5: Report Back on City Council Meeting on MEU Policy

  • Vice Chair Buen Rostro summarized the council’s August 12, 2025 approval of the renewed MEU policy. The council appreciated the improved report and the commission’s input.
  • Vice Chair noted that a council member raised the 2022 decoupling recommendation, which will be reviewed by staff.
  • SPD proposed moving the annual MEU deadline to December 31 to allow more time for community input and council review. Commissioners supported the change.
  • Public comment: Keon Bliss argued the approved purchases violated state law.

• Item 6: Follow-Up Log

  • Reviewed the log containing many items from previous years, some seemingly completed.
  • Decided to approve the log as presented and task the chair and vice chair with reviewing each item and bringing recommendations for removal or prioritization to the next meeting.
  • Motion to approve passed 7-0-1 (Commissioner Sample and Griggs voted no on the motion to extend the meeting, but the follow-up log motion passed unanimously).

Key Outcomes

• Consent Calendar Approved (7-0-1).
• 2026 Work Plan Process: Chair and vice chair, with volunteers, will draft a plan to be presented for approval by January 2026.
• Commission Email: Staff to explore setting up a dedicated email address.
• MEU Timeline: SPD to propose an ordinance change moving the deadline to December 31; commission expressed support.
• Follow-Up Log: Approved as-is; chair and vice chair to review and propose updates at the next meeting.
• Meeting Extension: Motion to extend the meeting by one hour passed narrowly (5-2).

Next Meeting: The follow-up log will be revisited with recommendations for each item.