The Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights and the Statute of Limitations

The Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights and the Statute of Limitations
An Editorial By Robert C. Phillips, Deputy District Attorney (Ret).

Gov’t. Code § 3304(d)(1) of the Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act provides for a one-year statute of limitation, measured from the date of the alleged violation without taking into consideration any other over-lapping violations.

As a law enforcement officer, you may sometimes wonder whether anyone in the public or government sectors is watching your six, given the recent “defund the police” mentality and the California Legislature’s tendency to be overly concerned with lessening punishments on criminals while at the same time imposing more and more restrictions on law enforcement’s powers and duties. But you might take comfort in the knowledge that Cops’ Lives do Matter, as illustrated by the existence of the “Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act;” i.e., Gov’t. Code §§ 3300 et seq.  

One of the protections for law enforcement found in the list of rights provided for in the Act is Gov’t. Code § 3304(d)(1).  Under this section, a “statute of limitations” is mandated, limiting the time to one year between when an act of misconduct by a law enforcement officer is discovered and the resulting investigation is to be completed with ....