One of the authors, John Rappaport, added that the increased populations of color overseen by these smaller, less-well-funded agencies is statistically significant but "substantively small." That is, wandering officers aren't suddenly being given power over predominantly non-white communities. They're just being re-hired in communities with slightly larger non-white populations.

Some state agencies lack databases about fired officers, leaving them clueless about which officers have been fired and for what reasons.

[...]

The authors also say that strong collective bargaining agreements negotiated by police unions often use labor arbitrators, rather than non-union outsiders, to hear cases about officer misconduct. These arbitrators "often rule in favor of officers and order them to be reinstated," Rappaport said.

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