In addition to being fired, cops in Washington the past six years could also be decertified — preventing them from obtaining another law enforcement job in the state. How’s that working? In the first accounting of the decertification process, Spokane’s Spokesman-Review today reports 78 cops have been barred from seeking similar work in Washington since 2002, 25 of them last year alone.Violations included domestic violence, reckless driving, theft, forgery and dishonesty; in earlier years, some were decertified for child molestation, assault, burglary and child rape. Among Washington officers decertified was Oak Harbor Police Officer Daniel French (theft), and two state troopers, Mark Sholtys for beating his wife, and Michael Idland, who groped ten women. Another 14 officers in Idaho were also decertified last year, the S-R says. The most common reason: sex on the job. (Idaho jokes here).
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