Who hires and fires police officers?

In the US, much of this depends on... everything else. First, Sheriffs are elected officials, yes, but they are only responsible for/in control of their Sheriff's Deputies in their counties. State police (or Troopers, or Highway Patrol Officers, etc.) are hired and fired by the State Police agencies. read more

State police (or Troopers, or Highway Patrol Officers, etc.) are hired and fired by the State Police agencies. City police officers are hired and fired by city police agencies. "Specialty" officers (such as college or university police, railroad police, etc.) are hired and fired by their respective organizations, and so on and so on. read more

To be hired be at least 21years old, no criminal record, meet height/weight requirements, pass an interview and polygraph and take a psychological test. The jurisdiction applied to sets the standards for new officers to be hired. The firing of police officers is more complicated but is done by the Office of the Police Chief. read more

The officers’ names and details were available in about half of the reinstatement cases: 151 of the officers had been fired for conduct unbecoming, and 88 had been terminated for dishonesty, according to a review of internal police documents, appeals records, court files and news reports. read more