Washington state auditors have started investigating whether local police departments are properly reporting officer misconduct.

As part of police accountability measures passed in 2021, the Legislature required law enforcement agencies to report to the state Criminal Justice Training Commission when officers leave the department for any reason, use force that results in death or serious injury, are charged with a crime or are found to commit certain misconduct.

The law also required departments to continue investigations even if an officer resigns before the probe is finished.

This is meant to ensure “bad-apple” officers who should lose their state certification don’t slip through the cracks. Losing those credentials blocks officers from working as police in the state, even if they qui

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