Toward a Berkeley where all residents feel safe CITY AFFAIRS: Recent police reforms in Berkeley mark significant progress in public safety, should be only the beginning of transformative change Rachel Lee/Staff Following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police officers last spring — and amid an eruption of protests nationwide calling for an end to police brutality against Black Americans — Berkeleyans, too, called for a reckoning here at home. On Tuesday, Berkeley City Council answered those calls, adopting reforms requiring written consent for police searches and the firing of racist officers. To minimize racially motivated pretextual stops, officers will also be prohibited from enforcing minor traffic violations.