Two investigations conducted by past students of UC Berkeley’s Investigative Reporting Program at the Graduate School of Journalism helped spur the passage of two new California laws in October — AB 572 and 1388.
These bills address key injustices in police accountability throughout California police departments. These injustices were uncovered in the investigations published by alums Brian Howey, Katey Rusch and Casey Smith.
Howey is a 2022 graduate of the Graduate School of Journalism, where he began probing police interrogation practices.
He was tipped off by an incident in 2014, in which 19-year-old Diana Showman was killed at the hands of a San Jose officer. Further investigation of the incident revealed controversial policing tactics, such as encouraging officers to press the families of victims for disparaging information about the deceased that officers could use to defend themselves in the case of a civil lawsuit.
With the 2014 incident in mind, Howey began a three-year investigation into police interrogation methods, after which he published his findings in the Los Angeles Times and Reveal. This served as the basis for AB 572, authored by Assemblymember Ash Kalra.
The bill requires that law enforcement officers and prosecutors identify themselves and disclose certain information before interviewing family members of individuals who have been killed or seriously injured by police.The legislation will take effect Jan. 1, 2027.
“It beats the hell out of any award for journalism,” Howey said on seeing his journalistic work have an impact, especially for the families who Howey cited growing close to over the course of his investigation.
“For them, it feels very much like an uphill battle,” he added, explaining that AB 572 was the second iteration of the legislation after the first failed to pass in the state Senate. However, he said the families described the passage of AB 572 as “a small victory.”
As alums of the Graduate School of Journalism, Rusch and Smith were part of the Investigative Reporting Program, where they examined cases of “clean-record agreements,” in which police departments promised officers accused of misconduct a clean record if they agreed to silently resign.
Together, Rusch and Smith uncovered 297 cases in 163 departments across California where officers accused of crimes ranging from child abuse to embezzlement were given a clean record in exchange for leaving, many of whom then took post at another department in the state.
The investigation was published in the San Francisco Chronicle and led to the drafting of AB 1388 by Assemblymember Isaac G. Bryan.The law prohibits confidentiality agreements that conceal misconduct and makes past agreements public records.
“I don’t think I dreamed that I would be in a legislative committee where they were specifically referencing everything that I had researched and done over those years to actually draft and then eventually pass legislation,” Rusch said. “That’s a very surreal experience to be a part of … It felt really, really special to have contributed in some way.”
Both Rusch and Howey credited the Investigative Reporting Program for providing the structure and mentorship to pursue thorough, impactful investigative projects.
“This story is not possible without the Investigative Reporting Program,” Rusch said. “It is a really special place where you get to work with some of the best journalists in the world … it allows you to see how to do this work at the highest level.”