SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KABC) -- A group of California lawmakers introduced a first-of-its-kind bill Tuesday that would change the state's "reasonable force" rule to a "necessary force" standard.
The bill would severely restrict when police are allowed to fire at a suspect. Under current California law, officer-involved shootings are classified as legal if an officer has reason to fear for his or her safety.
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Under the new law, officers could more frequently face criminal prosecution if de-escalation tactics are not employed in lieu of deadly force.
Assemblymember Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, and Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, were joined by the family of shooting victim Stephon Clark in announcing the bill at a press conference.
"Existing use-of-force laws have made an encounter with law enforcement - no matter how ordinary and no matter whether an individual is unarmed or even cooperative - into one that ends in the death of a civilian," Weber said. "The worst possible outcome is increasingly the only outcome, especially in communities of color."
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The California State Sheriff's Association says it has not read the bill and cannot yet comment.
"It's time for California to modernize our century-old deadly force standard," said McCarty. "Our current law enforcement use of force threshold does not work. Revising California's use of force standard will help law enforcement transition to a police system that can prevent the deaths of unarmed individuals and build much needed public confidence in how we keep all our communities safe."
ABC News contributed to this report.