DENVER – Only a criminal conviction on a felony charge or certain misdemeanors automatically bar a police officer from another state from getting hired in law enforcement in Colorado.
An officer with a history in other states of lying under oath, past misconduct, even brutality is eligible to find work in Colorado.
The Denver Post reports that Colorado’s standard is weaker than many other states.
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Colorado’s laws also provide little guidance to smaller, often rural, agencies struggling to find qualified applicants to patrol the streets. Unlike other states that require rigorous background investigations of those seeking police work, Colorado for the most part leaves the thoroughness up to local authorities.
At least 39 states have laws that make it easier to ensure a rogue officer never polices again in those states.