POST proposes disciplinary guidelines to give ALJs and commissioners factors for penalty decisions

Assistant Executive Director Ann Marie Delmonayo and Certification Bureau Chief Michelle Wyler presented a proposal to adopt commission regulation 12.16 — POST disciplinary guidelines — to provide guidance on factors for penalty consideration in certification actions.

Delmonayo told advisory members the guidelines are meant to provide a framework commissioners and administrative law judges can use when assessing whether serious misconduct occurred and what discipline is appropriate. “This set of disciplinary guidelines is a product of work with a subcommittee of the commissioners,” Delmonayo said, noting the document lists standard and optional considerations and provides examples organized by the nine categories of serious misconduct.

Wyler explained the guidelines are intended to reduce wide variances in outcomes by giving ALJs background on law enforcement practice and expectations. She said the guidelines would be used with existing regulation 12.13 (factors to consider) and are not mandatory rules but recommended considerations. The package also includes suggested probationary-monitoring components (for example, substance-abuse testing and reporting requirements) that POST could use when a term of suspension is paired with probation rather than immediate revocation.

Advisory members raised procedural questions. Several members supported the principle of guidance but emphasized that guidelines must preserve the ability to consider mitigating circumstances case-by-case to avoid “absurd outcomes.” POST staff agreed the document should remain flexible; they described the guidelines as living guidance that would evolve with precedent and commission practice.

The committee did not vote on adoption; POST presented the draft for advisory review ahead of future commission consideration.