§2405. Peace officer training requirements; reimbursement by peace officer

A.(1) Except as otherwise provided in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, any person who begins employment as a peace officer in Louisiana subsequent to January 1, 1986, must successfully complete a certified training program approved by the council and successfully pass a council-approved comprehensive examination within one calendar year from the date of initial employment. The one-year period in which a peace officer is required to complete a certified training program approved by the council and successfully pass a council-approved comprehensive examination is not interrupted if the peace officer leaves the employing agency to be employed as a peace officer in another agency in Louisiana. Any person who fails to comply with this requirement shall be prohibited from exercising the authority of a peace officer; however, such persons shall not be prohibited from performing administrative duties.

(2)(a) The council shall promulgate administrative rules for the certification requirements of part-time and reserve peace officers employed on or after the effective date of this Act and prior to January 1, 2022, subject to oversight by the House Committee on Judiciary and Senate Committee on Judiciary B.

(b) Any person who begins employment as a part-time or reserve peace officer in Louisiana on or after January 1, 2022, shall be subject to the requirements of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection.

(3) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary and subject to the policy and procedures of the law enforcement agency with which he is employed, a reserve or part-time peace officer may be permitted to carry a concealed weapon if he has completed the Council on Peace Officer Standards and Training basic firearms course.

B.(1) Additionally, the receipt of supplemental pay from the municipal police officers fund, the deputy sheriffs' fund, the state police fund, or out of the funds appropriated for military police by the Military Department, state of Louisiana, shall be contingent upon the recipient's beginning employment as a peace officer after January 1, 1986, successfully completing a council-approved training program, and passing the council-approved examination within one calendar year from date of initial employment.

(2) Certified security personnel of the Supreme Court of Louisiana shall not be eligible to receive supplemental pay benefits even though the peace officer has successfully completed a council-approved training program.

C.(1) Peace officers employed as such prior to January 1, 1986, may continue their employment and their receipt of supplemental pay without compliance with the provisions of this Section.

(2) Reserve or part-time peace officers continuously serving as such prior to January 1, 1986, may continue their service without compliance with the provisions of this Section.

D. In no case shall the failure of a peace officer to obtain the required training before the passage of one calendar year from the date of initial employment be grounds to suppress any evidence, testimony, or law enforcement action whatsoever in a court of law.

E. Peace officers employed after January 1, 1986, in villages of one thousand or less, according to the last decennial census, shall have a period of two calendar years to comply with the provisions of this Section. In addition, full-time peace officers employed in such a village which adopts a home rule charter after July 1, 1998, and who was employed as such at the time of adoption of the charter, shall have a period of two calendar years from the date of adoption of the charter to comply with the provisions of this Section. In no case shall a peace officer of such a village be prevented from continuing his duties or receiving regular or supplemental pay if the village is unable to provide the requisite training because of a shortage of funds.

F.(1) After July 1, 2003, every governmental entity of this state intending to employ on a permanent basis a peace officer who has satisfactorily completed a certified law enforcement training course and basic firearms training program as required under this Section may, as a condition of employment, require a newly appointed peace officer to enter into a written employment contract executed prior to employment for a period of not longer than two years from the date of satisfactory completion of the certified training course and basic firearms training program.

(2) If a peace officer who has entered into a contract authorized under this Subsection accepts employment as a peace officer with another governmental entity, the peace officer shall reimburse the governmental entity that initially hired the peace officer for the total costs incurred and expended during his or her training program, including the officer's salary paid during the training period.

(3) The amount of reimbursement authorized by this Subsection shall be prorated based upon the percentage of time that the peace officer completed his or her employment contract. The amount of reimbursement authorized by this Subsection after the pro rata amount is calculated shall be reduced by the cost of the training provided by the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Criminal Justice.

(4) The governmental entity which initially paid for the peace officer's law enforcement training course and basic firearms training program shall submit an itemized sworn statement to the peace officer, shall demand payment thereof, and may enforce collection of the obligation through civil remedies and procedures.

G. The council may suspend the provisions of this Section as they apply to designated Louisiana National Guard military police officers during a time of war, heightened national security alert, or as specified by the United States Department of Homeland Security.

H.(1) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the qualification to serve as a peace officer pursuant to the requirements of this Chapter of a person who is not serving as a peace officer in any capacity shall be retained without further training being required for a period of five years from the date on which such person ceased to serve as a peace officer, provided the person meets all of the following requirements:

(a) Served as a full-time, part-time, or reserve peace officer who met all requirements of this Chapter for a continuous period of not less than two years immediately preceding the date on which he ceased to serve as a peace officer.

(b) Satisfactorily completed a basic or advanced law enforcement training course as provided for in this Chapter, including any required examination.

(c) Satisfactorily fulfilled all requirements for basic firearms training during active service as a peace officer.

(2)(a) A person who is not serving as a peace officer, but who retains the qualifications to do so, as provided in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, may resume service as a qualified peace officer during the five-year period provided the officer successfully requalifies with his or her firearm in accordance with the provisions of this Section and completes additional annual training for the year in which the peace officer resumes employment as required and prescribed by the council.

(b) The council shall establish the training requirements required for a person who seeks to resume service as a qualified peace officer after the five years of continued qualification provided for in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection has expired.

(c) The additional annual training required of officers pursuant to Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph and Paragraph (I)(2) of this Section may be available online and at no cost to the peace officer.

I. Any person who is enrolled in a law enforcement curriculum and who successfully completes a certified Police Officer Standards and Training course or academy subsequent to July 1, 2005, and does not begin employment as a peace officer upon completion of the course or academy shall maintain their P.O.S.T. qualification status for a period of two years provided they meet the following requirements:

(1) Satisfactorily complete a basic or advanced law enforcement training course as provided for in this Chapter, including any required examination.

(2) Satisfactorily fulfill all requirements for annual basic firearms training and any additional training for the year in which the peace officer resumes employment as required and prescribed by the council.

J.(1) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the P.O.S.T. certification of any qualified peace officer, whether employed full-time, part-time, or reserve, shall be revoked upon the occurrence of any of the following conditions:

(a) A conviction of malfeasance in office.

(b) A conviction of an offense which results in the individual peace officer's restriction of his constitutional right to bear arms.

(2) The Council on Peace Officer Standards and Training may conduct a revocation hearing to determine whether the P.O.S.T. certification of any qualified peace officer, whether employed full-time, part-time, or reserve, shall be revoked if any of the following conditions occur:

(a) The officer has been involuntarily terminated by his employing law enforcement agency for disciplinary reasons involving an adjudication of civil rights violations and the officer has exhausted all administrative remedies.

(b) The officer has been convicted of a misdemeanor involving the crime of domestic abuse battery as provided in R.S. 14:35.3 or a felony in any court of the United States.

(c) The officer has failed to complete additional training as required and prescribed by the council.

(d) The officer voluntarily surrenders certification.

(e) A judicial disposition in a criminal case results in revocation of certification.

(3)(a) Any hearing conducted by the council or appeal by an officer whose certification has been revoked shall be conducted according to rules promulgated by the council.

(b) Notice of a revocation hearing shall be provided to all officers involved at least thirty days prior to the hearing date.

(4) The council shall promulgate rules in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act no later than January 1, 2018, subject to the oversight of the House Committee on Judiciary and the Senate Committee on Judiciary B, to provide procedures governing revocation hearings.

(5) Any peace officer whose certification has been denied or revoked by the council may file an appeal under the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act provided in R.S. 49:964.

Added by Acts 1976, No. 397, §1. Amended by Acts 1981, No. 777, §2; Acts 1982, No. 766, §1; Acts 1985, No. 767, §1; Acts 1998, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 108, §1, eff. July 1, 1998; Acts 1999, No. 529, §1; Acts 2001, 2nd Ex. Sess., No. 8, §2, eff. Oct. 16, 2001; Acts 2003, No. 817, §1, eff. July 1, 2003; Acts 2003, No. 1063, §1; Acts 2005, No. 279, §1, eff. June 29, 2005; Acts 2007, No. 221, §1, eff. July 1, 2007; Acts 2008, No. 116, §1; Acts 2009, No. 97, §1; Acts 2016, No. 273, §2; Acts 2017, No. 177, §1; Acts 2017, No. 271, §1, eff. June 16, 2017; Acts 2017, No. 272, §§2, 4, eff. June 16, 2017; Acts 2018, No. 201, §1.