California Officer ‘Badge Bending’ Probe Must Be Made Public

A Bay Area police department must make public an investigation into an officer “badge bending” tradition, a California appeals panel ruled Friday.

Justices in the California Court of Appeal, First District said in a published opinion the records weren’t exempt as confidential personnel files because they’re related to fatal police shootings. The state legislature amended the law providing confidentiality to exempt documentation related to police shootings to improve transparency, the court said. A trial court had ordered disclosure of only “portions” of the report.

“Indeed, we cannot imagine the Legislature intended that such an investigation into a practice associated with ...