NAPO’s January 14, 2025 letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland regarding our ongoing concerns with the complete lack of due process for law enforcement officers before their names are added to the National Decertification Index was referenced in a February 20, 2025 Washington Post article entitled, “Justice Department Deletes Database Tracking Federal Police Misconduct“. The article is reporting on the deletion of the National Law Enforcement Accountability Database (NLEAD) and any references to it from the Department of Justice (DOJ) website as a result of President Trump repealing the President Biden executive order on police reform.

In addition to quoting directly from our letter, the article notes that “[a]t least one police group had objected that officers weren’t given a chance to challenge the information about them before it was entered into the database, and said that only serious misconduct should be entered.”

“The National Association of Police Organizations, a coalition of police unions and associations that says it represents 241,000 officers, repeatedly aired its concerns with the database in letters to the Biden administration beginning in 2022. As recently as last month, executive director William J. Johnson wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland noting that minor administrative infractions shouldn’t be included in the database, and that officers should have due process available to challenge being included in the data.

Johnson’s Jan. 14 letter expressed frustration that the Justice Department wasn’t listening.

‘Our comments and recommendations on the establishment of a National Law Enforcement Accountability Database have been largely disregarded,’ Johnson wrote. ‘As representatives of rank-and-file officers, it is incredibly concerning that their voices are being ignored.'”