Decertification
In Washington state, all law enforcement officers must be licensed or “certified.” So, if an officer gets their certification revoked, they are “decertified” and cannot remain an officer any longer. RCW 43.101.095. To decertify an officer, the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission (“Commission”) must first provide the officer written notice and a hearing, if a hearing is requested. RCW 43.101.105(1). The written notice details the reasons why the officer should be decertified. RCW 43.101.155. The hearing allows the officer to hear and contest the evidence against them. RCW 43.101.155.
The Issue: The “disqualifying misconduct” definition prioritizes misconduct resulting in conviction or meeting grounds for prosecution. For example, racist social media posts or use of racial slurs are not “disqualifying misconduct” but undermine community trust in policing. However, an officer cannot be decertified for such racist conduct.
Additionally, if an officer is fired for lying during a disciplinary investigation, they cannot be decertified unless lying was the only reason they were fired. For example, if an officer is fired for posting racist social media content and lying during an ensuing investigation, they cannot be decertified. This is because they were not fired only for lying. In this example, the community’s trust in the officer is damaged but he or she can become an officer elsewhere as they are still certified.
Even when an officer is discharged for disqualifying misconduct, the discharge must be “final” to decertify them.. “Final” means the officer has exhausted all administrative, civil, and police union-provided appeal and remedies. RCW 43.101.010(9). So, the Commission cannot decertify an officer until all remedies are exhausted which can take years. Decertification Article. Meanwhile, the fired officer can move to a different police department.
When an officer resigns anticipating discipline, he or she may still be decertified if the Commission’s investigation concludes the officer likely would have been “discharged for disqualifying misconduct” had they not resigned. RCW 43.101.010(8)(b). This requires the Commision to complete it’s decertification investigation even when an officer resigns anticipating disciplinary consequences.
Situations when the Commission “decertifies” an officer include when:
1) The officer is convicted of a felony crime;
2) The officer was “discharged for disqualifying misconduct,” and the discharge is final, and some or all of the acts or omissions forming the basis for the discharge proceedings occurred on or after January 1, 2002;
3) The officer interfered with an investigation or action regarding denial or revocation of certificate by: (a) Knowingly making a materially false statement to the commission; or (b) in any matter under investigation by or otherwise before the commission, tampering with evidence or tampering with or intimidating any witness.
An officer is “discharged for disqualifying misconduct” when he or she is fired due to:
Being convicted of (a) any crime committed under color of authority as a peace officer, (b) any crime involving dishonesty or false statement, (c) the unlawful use or possession of a controlled substance such as methamphetamine, heroin, or cocaine, or (d) any other crime the conviction of which disqualifies a Washington citizen from the legal right to possess a firearm under state or federal law;
conduct that would constitute any of the crimes addressed in (a)(i)(A) of this subsection; or
knowingly making materially false statements during disciplinary investigations, where the false statements are the sole basis for the termination.