Today let me tell you about some police chiefs & sheriffs with pasts that might disqualify other cops, but somehow they keep getting hired as the boss in US cities and counties. We know about them because of our wide sweep for police misconduct records. usatoday.com/in-depth/news/… Chiefs hold a position of public trust that makes them the face of law enforcement and puts them in command of other officers. If they can outrun misconduct, experts say, imagine what can happen among the lower-ranking officers they employ.

We've found 85,000 cops who’ve been investigated for misconduct across the country. Starting today, you can dig into their records. @USATODAY Network has obtained records from hundreds of agencies, and every state, so far. We're working to publish it all. usatoday.com/in-depth/news/… We're leading a national effort including reporters in our 100+ local newsrooms to obtain and publish the largest clearinghouse ever of records about police conduct. We have hundreds of thousands of records so far from state oversight agencies, prosecutors and police departments.