In the News

LA County one step closer to possible return of Bruce's Beach; Great-great-grandson thanks supporters

October 01, 2021

LOS ANGELES - Imagine it’s the early 1900s. Bruce’s Beach was a thriving resort for Black residents along the strand. 

In the 1920s, the beachfront property was taken from the Bruch family by the City of Manhattan Beach using eminent domain. In 1995, it was transferred to the state and then to Los Angeles County. 

On Thursday, Governor Gavin Newsom made it legally possible to transfer it yet again. This time, by signing a measure giving authority to the county, it can go back to the Bruce family.

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Newsom Signs Bills That Bring Greater Accountability For California Law Enforcement Agencies

September 30, 2021

OS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Governor Gavin Newsom signed eight new bills into law Thursday in Gardena that will set in motion sweeping changes for law enforcement.

“We have a lot to be proud of, but there are areas where there is nothing to brag about,” Newsom said Thursday.

During the signing, Newsom was flanked by family members of people killed by law enforcement, including the mother of Kenneth Ross Jr., an unarmed man having a mental crisis. Ross Jr. was shot in the back and killed by a Gardena Police officer.

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Bruce’s Beach Is Going Back To The Family’s Descendants, After Newsom Signs Bill And Apologizes On Behalf Of California

September 30, 2021

A bill signed by Governor Gavin Newsom Thursday brings the Bruce family one step closer to owning the plot of land in Manhattan Beach that once belonged to their ancestors: Willa and Charles Bruce.

Senate Bill 796, authored by Steve Bradford (D), gives Los Angeles County the legal authority to transfer the property to the descendants.

The Bruce’s owned and operated a coastal resort that was popular with Black beachgoers, and an oasis for recreation during the Jim Crow era. From 1912 to 1924, a thriving community was built around it.

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Newsom approves decertification system for rogue cops

September 30, 2021

(CN) — California Governor Gavin Newsom inked a broad package of criminal justice reforms Thursday, highlighted by a decertification process for officers who wrongly kill or use excessive force against civilians.

The feature legislation, Senate Bill 2, aligns California with nearly every other state and creates an official process to strip badges from rogue officers. The new law also reduces immunity provisions for officers to make it easier for victims of police violence to pursue wrongful death and other civil rights claims in state court.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom will sign Bruce’s Beach bill today

September 30, 2021

A state bill paving the way for Los Angeles County to return two plots of oceanfront land on Manhattan Beach to descendants of former black owners was enacted on Thursday, September 30, with Governor Gavin Newsom at a noon ceremony.

A joint state-county effort to return land that was once the Brutin Beach Lodge, an early 20th-century seaside resort for African Americans at the time when blacks had restricted access to the coast. Is the first time in Japan. The official who led it said that it was able to set the stage for discussions on national reparations.

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Newsom signs police reform bill to banish bad cops

September 30, 2021

Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday signed four bills into law aimed at police reform, including one that creates a process for decertifying officers who engage in misconduct, preventing them from moving to another agency.

The law sets up an advisory committee that will review misconduct cases and make recommendations to the state Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, which could then suspend or revoke officers’ certifications.

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California enacts law to strip badges from bad officers

September 30, 2021

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL) – Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Thursday geared towards implementing reforms to policing policies statewide.

Senate Bill 2, authored by Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, and Senator Steven Bradford, D-Gardena, would create a system to investigate and decertify or suspend police officers for misconduct such as excessive force, sexual assault or the “demonstration of bias and dishonesty.”

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California governor signs bill to return beachfront land seized from Black owners back to descendants

September 30, 2021

California’s governor has signed a bill that clears the way for a valuable parcel of beachfront land near Los Angeles to be returned to the descendants of a Black family who had it seized nearly 100 years ago.

The move by Gavin Newsom allows Los Angeles County to return the Bruce’s Beach property in Manhattan Beach, which was taken from Willa and Charles Bruce under eminent domain by the city in 1924.

“I want to apologise to the Bruce family,” said Mr Newsom as he put his signature on the paperwork that will sign the transfer of ownership into law.

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Gavin Newsom signs police accountability law to keep troubled cops out of law enforcement

September 30, 2021

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law Thursday that will make it easier to strip cops with misconduct records of their badges and keep them from jumping to another law enforcement agency without facing discipline.

Newsom’s signature fulfills more than a year’s worth of promises Democrats made after George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis to weed out officers with concerning records of excessive force and other serious misconduct. California was one of only four states without a police decertification process.

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Senator Bradford LIVE on ABC10

September 16, 2021

Catch Senator Bradford live on ABC10 discussing SB 2 on Police Decertification.

Click here to watch at 11:30AM (PST)

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