(1) (a) Notwithstanding
any provision of law, the P.O.S.T. board shall permanently revoke a peace officer's
certification if:
(I) The P.O.S.T. certified peace officer is convicted of or pleads guilty or nolo
contendere to a crime involving the unlawful use of physical force or a crime
involving the failure to intervene in the use of unlawful force and the incident
resulted in serious bodily injury or death to another person;
(II) Repealed.
(III) An administrative law judge, hearing officer, or internal investigation
finds that a peace officer used unlawful physical force, failed to intervene, or
violated section 18-1-707, and the incident resulted in serious bodily injury or death
to another person;
(IV) An administrative law judge, hearing officer, or internal investigation
finds that a peace officer failed to intervene pursuant to section 18-8-805 (5) and
the incident resulted in death to another person; or
(V) An administrative law judge, hearing officer, or internal investigation
finds that a peace officer violated section 18-8-805 (1) or (2)(a)(I) and the incident
resulted in death to another person.
(b) The P.O.S.T. board shall not, under any circumstances, reinstate the
peace officer's certification or grant new certification to the peace officer unless
the peace officer is exonerated by an administrative law judge, hearing officer, or
court. The P.O.S.T. board shall record each peace officer whose certification is
revoked pursuant to this section in the database created pursuant to section 24-31-303 (1)(r).
(1.5) The P.O.S.T. board may permanently revoke a peace officer's
certification if the P.O.S.T.-certified peace officer is found civilly liable for the use
of excessive or unconstitutional physical force or is found civilly liable for failure to
intervene in the use of excessive or unconstitutional force, and the incident resulted
in serious bodily injury or death to another person.
(2) (a) Notwithstanding any provision of law, the P.O.S.T. board shall suspend
a peace officer's certification for at least a year if:
(I) The P.O.S.T. certified peace officer is convicted of or pleads guilty or nolo
contendere to a crime involving the unlawful use or threatened use of physical
force or a crime involving the failure to intervene in the use of unlawful force and
the incident did not result in serious bodily injury or death to another person;
(II) Repealed.
(III) An administrative law judge, hearing officer, or internal investigation
finds that a peace officer used or threatened to use unlawful physical force, failed
to intervene, or violated section 18-1-707, and the incident did not result in serious
bodily injury or death to another person; or
(IV) An administrative law judge, hearing officer, or internal investigation
finds that a peace officer failed to intervene pursuant to section 18-8-805 (5), or
violated section 18-8-805 (1) or (2)(a)(I), and the incident did not result in death to
another person.
(b) The P.O.S.T. board shall reinstate the peace officer's certification if the
peace officer is exonerated by an administrative law judge, hearing officer, or court.
(2.5) The P.O.S.T. board may suspend a peace officer's certification for at
least one year if the P.O.S.T.-certified peace officer is found civilly liable for the use
of excessive or unconstitutional physical force or is found civilly liable for failure to
intervene in the use of excessive or unconstitutional force, and the incident did not
result in serious bodily injury or death to another person.
(3) Notwithstanding this section, the P.O.S.T. board shall not suspend or
revoke a peace officer's certification based on a final decision of an internal
investigation unless and until subsections (3)(a) and (3)(b) of this section are
complied with, no later than one hundred eighty days after the date the law
enforcement agency reports an incident to the P.O.S.T. board:
(a) The law enforcement agency that employs or employed the peace officer
shall notify the P.O.S.T. board upon any sustained findings of subsection (1)(a)(III) or
(2)(a)(III) of this section, in a manner designated by the P.O.S.T. board. Upon receipt
of the notification, the P.O.S.T. board shall notify the certificate holder of the
certificate holder's right to request a hearing. Upon request of the P.O.S.T. board,
the reporting agency shall provide relevant documents related to the sustained
findings of subsection (1)(a)(III) or (2)(a)(III) of this section. For the purposes of this
subsection (3), the records of any law enforcement agency that are submitted for
review by the P.O.S.T. board remain the property of the reporting law enforcement
agency and are not subject to public release by the P.O.S.T. board.
(b) The certificate holder must request a hearing within thirty days after
receipt of the P.O.S.T. board's notification. Upon the request by the certificate
holder, the P.O.S.T. board shall refer the matter to an administrative law judge, who
shall conduct a hearing in compliance with sections 24-4-104 and 24-4-105 to
determine if the officer engaged in the alleged conduct.
(c) If the certificate holder either does not request a hearing or requests a
hearing and the administrative law judge determines, after conducting the hearing
pursuant to the rules of the P.O.S.T. board and in compliance with sections 24-4-104
and 24-4-105, that the certificate holder violated subsection (1)(a)(III) or (2)(a)(III) of
this section, the P.O.S.T. board shall revoke or suspend the peace officer's
certification pursuant to subsection (1)(a) or (2)(a) of this section.
(4) The P.O.S.T. board has the authority to permanently revoke or suspend
the certification of any peace officer who enters into a deferred judgement,
deferred prosecution, or diversion agreement for a crime involving the unlawful use
of physical force or a crime involving the failure to intervene in the unlawful use of
force.
(5) If a law enforcement agency is investigating a peace officer for an
incident that could result in a report pursuant to section 24-31-321 (1), the law
enforcement agency shall inform the peace officer of the agency's duty to report
that information and the consequences of the reporting.
(6) An employer shall not agree to a settlement with a peace officer that
includes the employing organization agreeing to not report the information required
pursuant to section 24-31-321 (1).