Bill to weed out bad cops heads to California governor

By DON THOMPSON
Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers have sent Gov. Gavin Newsom legislation to end the careers of bad law enforcement officers. The final approval on Wednesday comes a year after an earlier effort died without a final vote. The bill aims to keep troubled officers from jumping from one job to another. It creates a mandatory new state license, or certification, that could be permanently revoked. The final softened version of the legislation also allows for suspending the license as a lesser punishment and includes other safeguards like requiring a two-thirds vote for decertification. California is one of just four states without a way of decertifying officers.