Crosspost from uplifting news community

Dages, meanwhile, was fired after an administrative investigation found he made false statements in a police report. He claimed Johnson was smoking in a nonsmoking area and took a fighting stance toward the officer.

In years past, Dages might have been able to leave La Mesa and find another job in a police department elsewhere in the state. Such scenarios happened enough over the years that they entered the police reform lexicon — advocates call it the “wandering officer” phenomenon.

But under a state law passed in 2021, Dages lost his certification for good — meaning he can’t be an officer anywhere in California. In the last two years, the state has decertified nearly 300 officers for excessive use of force, dishonesty, sexual assault and other violations. That includes 20 officers in San Diego County who lost their badges.