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This Central Valley police chief forced an officer to remodel his home; now he’s California’s latest criminal cop

A police officer in uniform stands next to a black and white Arvin Police vehicle with the words "Community Partnership" on the side. The officer is smiling with one hand resting on the car. Trees and people are in the background, with sunlight casting a warm glow, capturing a scene worthy of Berkeley Journalism.

Pictured above: Former McFarland Chief Scot Kimble has worked for at least eight police agencies and been forced out of two. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) This story appeared in the Mercury News and other newspapers across California on Feb. 28, 2020. By Katey Rusch (’20) and Laurence Du Sault (’20) BAKERSFIELD — When Scot…

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Magazine profiles student reporters investigating California police officers in Bay Area News Group collaboration

Two women are in a car; one is driving and the other is reading a document from Berkeley Journalism. The driver’s side is on the left, and both women are wearing sunglasses. The car cruises down a tree-lined road, visible through the windshield, with the dashboard displaying a GPS screen.

This story appeared in California Magazine on January 8, 2020 By Brandon Patterson In May of last year, Laurence Du Sault and Katey Rusch stood hunched over a single desk in a records room in a courthouse in Lancaster, California, carefully parsing and then photocopying court files they had pulled on numerous police officers convicted…

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How did this California police department hire so many officers with troubling pasts?

Police SUV with "City of McFarland" text and 911 emblem driving quickly on a road at night, its lights casting blue and amber glows. With the background blurred due to the vehicle's speed, one might imagine this scene featured on a Berkeley Journalism news segment.

Photo above by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG This story appeared in the Mercury News and other newspapers across California on November 11, 2019 By Katey Rusch (’20) and Laurence DuSault (’20) McFARLAND — They hired a cop investigated in an FBI child porn probe, and another caught up in an LAPD burglary ring. They gave…

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California’s Criminal Cops: Who they are, what they did, why some are still working

A police officer in uniform is shown with their face replaced by a collage of numerous smaller photos of various people's faces, representing a diverse range of individuals. The background, reminiscent of Berkeley Journalism's intense storytelling, is a hazy mix of dark and light blue, creating a dramatic atmosphere.

This story appeared on the front page of the Mercury News and more than 30 other California newspapers on November 10, 2019. By Robert Lewis (’08), David Debolt, Jason Paladino (’15), Katey Rusch (’20), Laurence Du Sault (’20), Ali DeFazio (’20) More than 80 law enforcement officers working today in California are convicted criminals, with…

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