LOS ANGELES — Twenty California police officers face possible decertification by the state's law enforcement accreditation body, a move would strip them of a license to carry a badge in the state.
Unless they are cleared by a Commission of Peace Officer Standards, or POST, investigation or succeed in an appeal, the officers accused of serious misconduct including sexual misconduct, fraud, excessive force and abuse on duty will not be able to work as sworn officers for any California police agency. This is an additional punishment to whatever actions prosecutors or their own departments take against them.
The public list is the first since California became the latest state to implement a process for decertifying police officers for serious misconduct. The legislation was enacted in 2021, and author state Sen. Steven Bradford, a Gardena Democrat, said it was needed to prevent police officers who are fired or resign during misconduct investigations from moving to another police agency.
