Police officers who lie could be banned from serving in Colorado

Here’s the good news: about 99.5% of the nearly 14,000 cops in Colorado are not fired for knowingly lying in police reports, when they’re testifying, or during internal affairs investigations, according to Colorado POST, the state regulatory agency for Peace Officer Standards and Training.

Here’s the bad news: 0.5% of 14,000 is still a pretty big number. An estimated average of 70 Colorado cops are fired every year for knowingly lying in an official capacity, POST reports.

A bipartisan bill moving through the Capitol would make sure that smidgen of known liars never get to work as police officers in the state again. It’s already cleared the state Senate, and on Tuesday it passed out of the State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee of the House. It could become law in the next couple weeks.

The bill — SB-166, sponsored by Avon Democrat Dylan Roberts in the House and Rhonda Fields (D-Aurora) and Bob Gardner (R-Colorado Springs) in the Senate — would give POST the authority to revoke the certification of any officer found to have lied on the record — that is, in court, in an investigation or on a criminal document. If passed, the law would apply only to Colorado police officers, meaning that an officer decertified here still could seek police work in another state.

Read more: https://www.coloradoindependent.com/2019/04/16/colorado-lying-police-officers/