SB5063: Law-enforcement officers; decertification, acts that compromise integrity or credibility.
SENATE BILL NO. 5063
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 15.2-1707 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 15.2-1707. Decertification of law-enforcement officers.
A. The sheriff, chief of police, or agency administrator shall
notify the Criminal Justice Services Board in writing within 48 hours of
becoming aware that any certified law-enforcement or jail officer currently
employed by his agency has (i) been convicted of or pled guilty or no contest
to a felony or any offense that would be a felony if committed in the
Commonwealth, (ii) been convicted of or pled guilty or no contest to a Class 1
misdemeanor involving moral turpitude or any offense that would be any
misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, including but not limited to petit
larceny under § 18.2-96, or any offense involving moral turpitude that would be
a misdemeanor if committed in the Commonwealth, (iii) been convicted of or pled
guilty or no contest to any misdemeanor sex offense in the Commonwealth,
another state, or the United States, including but not limited to sexual
battery under § 18.2-67.4 or consensual sexual intercourse with a minor 15 or
older under clause (ii) of § 18.2-371, (iv) been convicted of or pled guilty or
no contest to domestic assault under § 18.2-57.2 or any offense that would be
domestic assault under the laws of another state or the United States, (v)
failed to comply with or maintain compliance with mandated training
requirements, or
(vi) refused to submit to a drug screening or has produced a positive result on
a drug screening reported to the employing agency, where the positive result
cannot be explained to the agency administrator's satisfaction, or (vii) been
placed on a Brady list because such officer committed acts that
compromise an officer's
credibility, integrity, honesty, or other characteristics that constitute
exculpatory or impeachment evidence in a criminal case.
Notification shall also be provided in writing within 48 hours of becoming
aware that any employee who resigned or was terminated in advance of being
convicted or found guilty of an offense that requires decertification or who resigned or was terminated in advance of a
pending drug screening. The notification, where appropriate, shall be
accompanied by a copy of the judgment of conviction. Upon receiving such notice from the sheriff,
chief of police, or agency administrator, or from an attorney for the
Commonwealth of clauses (i) through (vi),
the Criminal Justice Services Board shall immediately decertify such
law-enforcement or jail officer. Upon receiving notice
from the sheriff, chief of police, or agency administrator, or from an attorney
for the Commonwealth of clause (vii), the Criminal Justice Services Board may
decertify such law-enforcement or jail officer. Such officer
shall not have the right to serve as a law-enforcement officer within the
Commonwealth until his certification has been reinstated by the Board.
B. When a conviction has not become final, the Board may decline to decertify the officer until the conviction becomes final, after considering the likelihood of irreparable damage to the officer if such officer is decertified during the pendency of an ultimately successful appeal, the likelihood of injury or damage to the public if the officer is not decertified, and the seriousness of the offense.
C. The Department of Criminal Justice Services is hereby authorized to waive the requirements for decertification as set out in subsection A for good cause shown.
D. The Criminal Justice Services Board may initiate
decertification proceedings against any former law-enforcement or jail officer (i) whom the Board has found
to have been convicted of an offense that requires decertification or, (ii)
who has failed to comply with or maintain compliance with mandated training
requirements, or (iii) who has been
placed on a Brady list.
E. Any conviction of a misdemeanor that has been appealed to a court of record shall not be considered a conviction for purposes of this section unless a final order of conviction is entered.