SACRAMENTO — Calling 911 to harass or otherwise violate the rights of a person based only on their race would be classified as a hate crime that could lead to jail time and a fine under a bill passed by California lawmakers on Monday.
The legislation comes amid a nationwide reckoning on systemic racism and following confrontations across the country in which primarily white people have made discriminatory emergency calls to the police when encountering people of color bird watching and barbecuing in a park, among other everyday activities.