Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to amend and pass a bill that prohibits the transfer of police officers to other departments following misconduct convictions.

Highlights:

• Establishes the following persons are disqualified from holding office as a peace officer or being employed as a peace officer of the state, county, city, city, and county or other political subdivision, whether with or without compensation, and is disqualified from any office or employment which confers upon the holder or employee the powers and duties of a peace officer (Sec. 4.a):

• Any person who has been convicted of a felony;

• Any person who has been found not guilty because of insanity of any felony;

• Any person adjudged addicted or in danger of becoming addicted to narcotics, convicted, and committed to a state institution;

• Any person who has been convicted of, or adjudicated through an administrative, military, or civil judicial process; and

• Any person who has been issued the certification and has had that certification revoked by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training has voluntarily surrendered that certification, or having met the minimum requirement for issuance of certification, has been denied issuance of certification.

• Prohibits the following peace officer or custodial officer personnel records and records maintained by any state or local agency from being confidential and requires them to be available for public inspection (Sec. 5.b-1):

• A record relating to the report, investigation, or findings of any of the following:

• An incident involving the discharge of a firearm at a person by a peace officer or custodial officer; and

• An incident in which the use of force by a peace officer or custodial officer against a person resulted in death, or great bodily injury.

• Any record relating to an incident in which a sustained finding was made by any law enforcement agency or oversight agency that a peace officer or custodial officer engaged in a sexual assault involving a member of the public.

• Requires an agency to redact a record only for any of the following purposes (Sec. 5-5):

• To remove personal data or information, such as a home address, telephone number, or identities of family members, other than the names and work-related information of peace and custodial officers;

• To preserve the anonymity of complainants and witnesses;

• To protect confidential medical, financial, or other information of which disclosure is specifically prohibited by federal law or would cause an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy that outweighs the strong public interest in records about misconduct and serious use of force by peace officers and custodial officers; and

• Where there is a specific, articulable, and particularized reason to believe that disclosure of the record would pose a significant danger to the physical safety of the peace officer, custodial officer, or another person.

• Establishes the Peace Officer Standards Accountability Division to review potential grounds for decertification of peace officers, conduct investigations into serious misconduct that may provide grounds for decertification, present findings, and recommendations to the board and commission, and bring proceedings seeking the revocation of certification of peace officers as directed by the board and commission (Sec. 8.a).

• Establishes the Peace Officer Standards Accountability Advisory Board, which has the following duties (Sec. 9.a):

• The purpose of the board is to make recommendations on the decertification of peace officers to the commission; and

• To make protection of the public the highest priority for the board as it upholds the standards for peace officers in California. Whenever the protection of the public is inconsistent with other interests sought to be promoted, the protection of the public is paramount.

• Requires maintaining minimum standards relating to physical, mental, and moral fitness that governs the recruitment of any city police officers, peace officer members of a county sheriff’s office, marshals or deputy marshals, peace officer members of a county coroner’s office, reserve officers, police officers of a district authorized by statute to maintain a police department, peace officer members of a police department operated by a joint powers agency, regularly employed and paid inspectors and investigators of a district attorney’s office, who conduct criminal investigations, peace officer members of a district, safety police officers and park rangers of the County of Los Angeles, or housing authority police departments (Sec. 10.a-1).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that prohibits the transfer of police officers to other departments following misconduct convictions.

Highlights:

• Establishes the following persons are disqualified from holding office as a peace officer or being employed as a peace officer of the state, county, city, city, and county or other political subdivision, whether with or without compensation and is disqualified from any office or employment which confers upon the holder or employee the powers and duties of a peace officer (Sec. 4.a):

• Any person who has been convicted of a felony;

• Any person who has been found not guilty because of insanity of any felony;

• Any person adjudged addicted or in danger of becoming addicted to narcotics, convicted, and committed to a state institution;

• Any person who has been convicted of, or adjudicated through an administrative, military, or civil judicial process; and

• Any person who has been issued the certification and has had that certification revoked by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training has voluntarily surrendered that certification, or having met the minimum requirement for issuance of certification, has been denied issuance of certification.

• Prohibits the following peace officer or custodial officer personnel records and records maintained by any state or local agency from being confidential and requires them to be available for public inspection (Sec. 5.b-1):

• A record relating to the report, investigation, or findings of any of the following:

• An incident involving the discharge of a firearm at a person by a peace officer or custodial officer; and

• An incident in which the use of force by a peace officer or custodial officer against a person resulted in death, or great bodily injury.

• Any record relating to an incident in which a sustained finding was made by any law enforcement agency or oversight agency that a peace officer or custodial officer engaged in a sexual assault involving a member of the public.

• Requires an agency to redact a record only for any of the following purposes (Sec. 5-5):

• To remove personal data or information, such as a home address, telephone number, or identities of family members, other than the names and work-related information of peace and custodial officers;

• To preserve the anonymity of complainants and witnesses;

• To protect confidential medical, financial, or other information of which disclosure is specifically prohibited by federal law or would cause an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy that outweighs the strong public interest in records about misconduct and serious use of force by peace officers and custodial officers; and

• Where there is a specific, articulable, and particularized reason to believe that disclosure of the record would pose a significant danger to the physical safety of the peace officer, custodial officer, or another person.

• Establishes the Peace Officer Standards Accountability Division to review potential grounds for decertification of peace officers, conduct investigations into serious misconduct that may provide grounds for decertification, present findings, and recommendations to the board and commission, and bring proceedings seeking the revocation of certification of peace officers as directed by the board and commission (Sec. 8.a).

• Establishes the Peace Officer Standards Accountability Advisory Board, which has the following duties (Sec. 9.a):

• The purpose of the board is to make recommendations on the decertification of peace officers to the commission; and

• To make protection of the public the highest priority for the board as it upholds the standards for peace officers in California. Whenever the protection of the public is inconsistent with other interests sought to be promoted, the protection of the public is paramount.

Full Bill Text