Press Releases

SACRAMENTO — California State Controller Malia Cohen issued the following statement after the release of video showing the events leading to the death of Sacramento resident, Tyre Nichols:

“I offer my condolences to the family of Tyre Nichols. He was a son, a father, a friend, and, perhaps more importantly, his life mattered. While we mourn yet another senseless, inhumane, and unnecessary death of a Black man at the hands of law enforcement, we can no longer pay lip service to the families of those harmed by officers acting under color of authority by offering empty apologies or adopting ineffective policies purporting to address the issues. While this event did not occur in California, the practices employed by the officers appear to be systemic to law enforcement agencies across the country as evidenced by so many tragedies before. We must take proactive measures and meaningful action to ensure all people are protected and treated with dignity when interacting with law enforcement. I look forward to working with the Legislature and Governor Newsom, as well as our federal partners, to establish a law enforcement commission at the federal level to review and revise police procedures to curb the use of excessive force.”

Controller Cohen also called on the Governor and the Legislature to reintroduce Senate Bill 299 (Leyva), which was co-sponsored by the State Controller’s Office with various advocacy groups last year. The goal of SB 299 was to provide victims and their families compensation for the excessive and unnecessary force used by law enforcement. “While this bill was heavily opposed by law enforcement who saw it as an indictment on the performance of their duties, that was never the intent of the legislation. Rather, the purpose of the legislation was to provide compensation to cover medical and burial costs where there are no other available financial resources,” said Cohen. SB 299 would have made critical changes to remove barriers faced by victims of police violence and other victims in accessing California’s Victim Compensation Program. The State Controller sits on the California Victim Compensation Board which provides financial assistance to victims of crime and/or their families.

As the chief fiscal officer of California, Controller Cohen is responsible for accountability and disbursement of the state’s financial resources. The Controller has independent auditing authority over government agencies that spend state funds. She is a member of numerous financing authorities, and fiscal and financial oversight entities including the Franchise Tax Board. She also serves on the boards for the nation’s two largest public pension funds. Follow the Controller on Twitter at @CAController and on Facebook at California State Controller’s Office.

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