The Kentucky Senate approved law enforcement reform legislation Thursday that now heads to the House for consideration.
Senate Bill 80 strengthens the police decertification process by expanding the number of acts considered professional wrongdoing. The new acts would include unjustified use of excessive or deadly force, interference of the fair administration of justice, and engagement in a sexual relationship with a victim, witness, defendant or informant in a criminal investigation.
It would also require an officer to intervene when another officer is engaging in the use of unlawful and unjustified excessive or deadly force.
A second provision would set up a system for an officer’s automatic decertification under certain circumstances. Those would include being convicted of a felony in federal or state courts or the concealment of such conviction during the police officer certification process.
State Senator Whitney Westerfield of Christian County says another provision would prevent that officer from simply moving to a new jurisdiction and carrying on his negative behaviors with a different badge.
An officer could be considered for decertification after being convicted of certain misdemeanors. Those would include crimes involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, misrepresentation, physical violence, sexual abuse, or crimes against a minor or household member.