Twenty California cops face potential decertification by the state’s legislation enforcement accreditation physique, a transfer would strip them of a license to hold a badge within the state.
Except they’re cleared by a Fee of Peace Officer Requirements, or POST, investigation or reach an attraction, the officers accused of great misconduct together with sexual misconduct, fraud, extreme drive and abuse on responsibility won’t be able to work as sworn officers for any California police company. That is a further punishment to no matter actions prosecutors or their very own departments take in opposition to them.
The general public listing is the primary since California turned the most recent state to implement a course of for decertifying cops for severe misconduct. The laws was enacted in 2021, and writer state Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) stated it was wanted to forestall cops who’re fired or resign throughout misconduct investigations from transferring to a different police company.
Usually on the listing, the officers have been suspended pending the completion of an investigation by POST investigators. A POST advisory board will resolve the officers’ destiny. A short lived suspension can last as long as three years. Officers convicted of a felony shall be barred from working as a peace officer once more in California.
The legislation enforcement officers on the listing embody police from San Bernardino, San Francisco, Stockton, Rohnert Park and Redwood Metropolis in addition to Sonoma, San Diego, Kern and San Bernadino counties.
A number of the momentary suspensions are for allegations of great crimes. Nicholas Bloed, a Stockton police officer, was arrested in November on a number of sexual assault expenses together with assault, sodomy and oral copulation by use of drive. He was quickly suspended Feb. 15.
San Bernardino Police Officer Fidel Ocampo Rodarte was issued a short lived suspension March 1 following his arrest final November on suspicion of firing his service weapon into the air exterior the Dogwood Tavern alongside Freeway 189 in San Bernardino County. A search warrant was served at his dwelling.
One other San Bernardino police officer, Sonny Aguilera, was given a short lived suspension final month, however no public data is on the market about an arrest or expenses associated to the allegation. San Bernardino officers didn’t return a message looking for to find out if he was nonetheless employed by the division.
In Rohnert Park, Officer Joseph Huffaker has been quickly suspended and charged with extortion after he was accused of illegally seizing hashish from drivers throughout site visitors stops and later falsifying data to cowl up his actions. One other former officer in Rohnert Park, Brendon “Jacy” Tatum, was convicted of three federal expenses for being the ringleader within the site visitors stops the place hashish was taken and has been deemed ineligible to serve.
San Francisco cops Kevin Lyons and Kevin Sien have been quickly suspended after they have been arrested final yr in reference to the destruction of proof. They’re accused of destroying bank cards, identification data and suspected methamphetamine found within the baggage of an individual staying in a resort.
Lyons and Sien allegedly informed employees that cataloging the proof would take too lengthy and as an alternative disposed of the bank cards and IDs in a shred bin and flushed the medicine down a resort rest room, in line with federal courtroom legal complaints.
