By Katie Mulvaney
The Providence Journal
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Members of the commission that oversees police standards and training in Rhode Island have watched reports of rogue officers leaving one department only to be promptly hired at another play out in recent years nationwide.
With that in mind and “out of an abundance of caution,” the Rhode Island Commission on Police Officers Standards and Training adopted a policy this year intended to prevent so-called “wandering officers” or “gypsy cops” from landing in a Rhode Island police department without undergoing a review.
The five-member commission, which sets policies and standards for certification and training for police in Rhode Island, implemented a policy that inactivates an officer’s certification the moment he or she leaves a police department. The officer must then apply to be recertified by the commission in order to take on active status at another department.
RIPOST requirements before joining a new agency
The rules require the officer to produce a letter of good standing from the previous agency and meet other criteria before joining a new agency. The policy is intended to stop troubled officers from resigning from one department to avoid being fired and restart their careers with clean hands a few towns over.
“At the end of the day, we are trying to prevent police officers from moving from place to place without a check,” Jamestown Police Chief Edward A. Mello, chairman of the commission, said in an interview with The Journal last week.
The Rhode Island rule replaces a long-standing policy that an officer’s certification would remain intact for three years after that person left an agency, Mello said. Rhode Island does not have a list of officers who have left their positions due to misconduct.
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“We want to be sure there’s a review process between that break,” he said. “This is a stop gap measure to ensure good police.”
The new policy has taken effect as the commission, known as the RIPOST, is seeing a growing number of officers seeking a lateral transfer from one agency to another in the Ocean State — an attractive option as recruitment has been difficult, Mello said. Advantages include that seasoned officers bring with them professional experience and training.
“It’s a challenging hiring time,” said Mello, whose last three department hires included two transfers.
Police de-certification Index
In addition to the letter of good standing, officers seeking a transfer must undergo a psychological, drug and medical exams, submit to a background check, and verify that they aren’t in the National De-certification Index, a national registry of certificate or license revocation actions relating to officer misconduct.
The index, which police in Rhode Island use to vet out-of-state applicants, currently lists 31,000 disciplinary actions, according to Michael Becar, executive director of the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards & Training, which oversees the database.
Although Rhode Island’s new policy inactivates an officer’s certification, that individual’s name cannot be added to the index because it is not a de-certification due to misconduct, Becar said. Rhode Island does not have a list of officers who have left their positions due to misconduct, according to Mello.
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Rhode Island is one of four states nationally whose standards and training commission doesn’t have the authority under state law to decertify a police officer, a process that essentially strips that person of his or her badge.
It joins New Jersey, Hawaii, and California, though state lawmakers there passed a measure in September empowering that state to suspend or revoke a certificate on specified grounds. Those include the use of excessive force, sexual assault, making a false arrest, or participating in a law enforcement gang, as well as demonstrating an abuse of power or bias based on race, national origin, religion, gender identity or sexual orientation, or disability. The California law takes effect in January.
From Becar’s perspective, it is important for the RIPOST to have the authority to de-certify problematic officers to prevent misconduct and an unwitting agency experiencing a black eye and civil liability due to officer misdeeds.
“They need the authority to investigate officers who have committed misconduct, to terminate their license,” Becar said. “If they don’t have the authority, there’s nothing to stop that officer from going from agency to agency.”
The association recommends as model de-certification policies that incorporate an independent investigation by the commission and an appeal process, as seen in Arizona and Oregon.
“It’s a very fair hearing into whether misconduct occurred,” Becar said.
But to Mello, de-certification can only work if every state is empowered to revoke an officer’s badge and then ensure the misconduct is entered into the national database. The states must require, too, that each department check that database before hiring an officer, he said.
“There’s no point in de-certification unless every state is de-certifying,” Mello said
‘A step in the right direction’
For now, Sid Wordell, executive director of the Rhode Island Police Chiefs’ Association, says the new policy “is a step in the right direction.”
“Ultimately, everybody believes there should be a de-certification process,” Wordell said.
Harrison Tuttle, executive director of BLM RI PAC, agrees that the policy represents a step in the right direction.
“While we celebrate this victory today, tomorrow we go back to work,” Tuttle, who is running for General Assembly, said in an email.
The BLM RI PAC will stand with the state’s Black and brown communities and continue to call for the repeal of the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights in Rhode Island, he said. He welcomed the chance to meet with the Police Chiefs’ Association “to do a full analysis on how this policy change works in practice ... as we plan to hold them accountable.”
Legislation to amend the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights failed to pass last session after advocates, interest groups and lawmakers were unable to reach agreement on key details.
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