California Code of Regulations › Title 11 - Law › Division 2 - Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training › Article 4 - Peace Officer Certification › Section 1205 - Serious Misconduct

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a) Serious
				Misconduct is:
(1) Dishonesty relating to the
				reporting, investigation, or prosecution of a crime, or relating to the reporting
				of, or investigation of misconduct by, a peace officer or custodial officer,
				including, but not limited to, false statements, intentionally filing false reports,
				tampering with, falsifying, destroying, or concealing evidence, perjury, and
				tampering with data recorded by a body-worn camera or other recording device for
				purposes of concealing misconduct. For purposes of this subsection, in considering
				whether a suspension or revocation of certification is proper, the Commission will
				consider the extent to which the dishonesty related to a material or significant
				fact in the context of the statement or omission alleged to be dishonest, and will
				also consider whether the dishonesty appears to have been done willfully or
				intentionally, with the intent to deceive.
(2) Abuse of power, including, but not limited to,
				intimidating witnesses, knowingly obtaining a false confession, and knowingly making
				a false arrest. For purposes of this subsection, in considering whether a suspension
				or revocation of certification is proper, the Commission will consider the extent to
				which the abuse of power was a knowing abuse of the power and authority of a public
				office.
(3) Physical abuse, including,
				but not limited to, the excessive or unreasonable use of force.
(4) Sexual assault as described in subdivision (b)
				of Penal Code Section
				832.7, and shall
				extend to acts committed amongst members of any law enforcement agency.
(5) Demonstrating bias on the basis of actual or
				perceived race, national origin, religion, gender identity or expression, housing
				status, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, or other protected status
				in violation of law or department policy or inconsistent with a peace officer's
				obligation to carry out their duties in a fair and unbiased manner. This paragraph
				does not limit an employee's rights under the First Amendment to the United States
				Constitution.
(A) An officer is "demonstrating"
				bias for purposes of this Regulation when the officer either shows or displays, by
				words, actions or other conduct, prejudice, intolerance, contempt, or hatred towards
				one or more persons due to that person's membership within a class of persons
				identified in Penal Code section
				13510.8(b)(5),
				when such words, actions or other conduct would lead a reasonable person to conclude
				that the officer has not fairly and impartially performed, or will not fairly and
				impartially perform, their law enforcement duties.
(B) An officer engaging in racial profiling in
				violation of Penal Code section
				13519.4 is
				demonstrating bias because profiling casts suspicion on a class of people without
				individualized suspicion as to the person being stopped.
(6) Acts that violate the law and are sufficiently
				egregious or repeated as to be inconsistent with a peace officer's obligation to
				uphold the law or respect the rights of members of the public, as determined by the
				Commission.
(7) Participation in a law
				enforcement gang. For the purpose of this paragraph, a "law enforcement gang" means
				a group of peace officers within a law enforcement agency who may identify
				themselves by a name and may be associated with an identifying symbol, including,
				but not limited to, matching tattoos, and who engage in a pattern of on-duty
				behavior that intentionally violates the law or fundamental principles of
				professional policing, including, but not limited to, excluding, harassing, or
				discriminating against any individual based on a protected category under federal or
				state antidiscrimination laws, engaging in or promoting conduct that violates the
				rights of other employees or members of the public, violating agency policy, the
				persistent practice of unlawful detention or use of excessive force in circumstances
				where it is known to be unjustified, falsifying police reports, fabricating or
				destroying evidence, targeting persons for enforcement based solely on protected
				characteristics of those persons, theft, unauthorized use of alcohol or drugs on
				duty, unlawful or unauthorized protection of other members from disciplinary
				actions, and retaliation against other officers who threaten or interfere with the
				activities of the group.
(8) Failure to
				cooperate with an investigation into potential police misconduct, including an
				investigation conducted pursuant to Chapter 1 of Title 4 of Part 4 of the Penal
				Code. For purposes of this paragraph, the lawful exercise of rights granted under
				the United States Constitution, the California Constitution, or any other law shall
				not be considered a failure to cooperate.
(9) Failure to intercede when present and
				observing another officer using force that is clearly beyond that which is
				necessary, as determined by an objectively reasonable officer under the
				circumstances, taking into account the possibility that other officers may have
				additional information regarding the threat posed by a subject.