New state law could terminate any law enforcement employment for violating officers

Under new state law, 20 California police officers, including two former San Bernardino police officers face possible decertification.

Senate Bill 2 was signed into law in September 2021 and took effect on Jan. 1 this year. This makes California the latest state to create a decertification process for police officers who are involved in serious misconduct. 

California was one of only five states without such a disciplinary law until now.

Earlier this month, the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) temporarily suspended certification for former San Bernardino police Officers Fidel Ocampo-Rodarte and Sonny Aguilera. The allegations center on abuse of power and dishonesty.

If misconduct is found, the California accreditation panel for sworn law enforcement could prevent the violating officers from getting hired by any other police agency, thereby eliminating the option to just transfer to another department.

POST is reviewing data on all of the officers accused of serious misconduct, submitted by law enforcement agencies statewide, to determine decertification qualifications under the new law.

A two-thirds vote of the commission is required to decertify an officer, which would then ban them for life from future employment with any law enforcement agency in California.