Why It Matters
California’s decision to remove local prosecutors from fatal police shooting investigations and hand that authority to the state was hailed as a landmark reform when it took effect. But years into implementation, families of those killed say the process has become an exercise in prolonged uncertainty — and in some cases, the delays themselves may be foreclosing the possibility of accountability.
What Happened
Following the 2020 death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police and the wave of protests that swept the country, California lawmakers passed legislation transferring oversight of fatal police shootings from local district attorneys to the state Department of Justice. The program opened its first investigation in July 2021.
More than four years later, the process has drawn scrutiny for its length. The average completed investigation has taken approximately two years and five months to resolve, and some cases have stretched beyond three years. As of the most recent count, 41 investigations have been completed — and in none of those cases involving an unarmed person has the Justice Department recommended criminal charges against the officer responsible.
The timeline issue carries legal consequences beyond the emotional toll on families. Because the statute of limitations begins running from the date an investigation concludes rather than from when the shooting occurred, lengthy probes can effectively eliminate the window for officer decertification and block most avenues for criminal prosecution.
A Family Still Waiting
Jeanelle Couch lost her son David when a California Highway Patrol officer shot and killed him in Redding. The state investigation into his death lasted three years. Despite the extended wait, she said closure remains out of reach. “We can’t put it to rest,” she said. “But this is my life now. I don’t care how long it takes.”
Her account reflects a tension at the center of the program: for many families, the state-level review represented a promise of impartiality, but the pace of that process has left them in a prolonged limbo that can span years of their lives.
By the Numbers
July 2021 — The program accepted its first case, marking the formal transfer of investigative authority from local prosecutors to the state Attorney General’s office.
41 — Total completed investigations as of the most recent reporting period.
2 years, 5 months — Average time to complete a single investigation across all closed cases.
$13 million — Annual funding allocated to the program, roughly half the $26 million the Justice Department requested to run it effectively.
0 — Number of cases involving an unarmed individual where the department recommended criminal charges against an officer.
Zoom Out
California’s experiment with state-level review of police shootings reflects a broader national trend that accelerated after 2020. Several states moved to limit the role of local prosecutors in use-of-force cases, citing conflicts of interest between district attorneys who regularly work alongside the same law enforcement agencies they would be investigating. States including Colorado and New Mexico adopted similar oversight expansions.
Critics across the political spectrum have raised questions about whether centralized review produces faster or more consistent outcomes, or whether it simply adds a layer of bureaucracy without improving resolution times or charging decisions. The California experience suggests resource constraints can play a significant role — a program receiving half its requested budget will likely struggle to keep pace with incoming cases.
The legislator who authored California’s accountability bill saw similar measures fail repeatedly before one finally cleared the legislature, a trajectory that underscores how politically difficult the reforms were to pass in the first place.
What’s Next
Pressure on the California Department of Justice to accelerate its review timelines is expected to grow as the backlog of unresolved cases draws continued attention from advocacy groups and lawmakers. The funding gap — nearly $13 million short of what the department has said it needs — remains a central obstacle, and any push to speed up investigations will likely require the legislature to revisit the program’s budget.
Families and civil rights organizations have also called for structural changes to how the statute of limitations interacts with investigation completion dates, arguing the current framework effectively punishes families for the state’s own delays.