Police Misconduct Complaint Investigations Manual / Edition 2

by Barbara Attard, Kathryn Olson

Overview

The Police Misconduct Complaint Investigations Manual provides a timely and unique, step-by-step approach to conducting or reviewing police misconduct investigations, whether a complaint involves a lower-level allegation of discourtesy or more serious concerns such as excessive force or criminal behavior. Utilizing real-life examples and updated case law to illustrate points, it provides best practices for investigating police action resulting in misconduct complaints. The Manual’s comprehensive approach includes detailed procedures and policy considerations from intake through case closure, and discusses data tracking, reporting on trends, selecting and training investigative staff, civilian oversight, and a host of special issues that can arise with police misconduct complaints.

The Manual is suitable for both sworn personnel and civilians handling or reviewing investigations and whether working internally for a police department or externally in oversight or another capacity. The guidance provides detailed examples of witness interview questions and types of evidence to collect, with discussion on making difficult credibility determinations and approaches to analyzing the information gathered to arrive at a recommended finding. Review questions are found at the end of most chapters, for use in academic or investigative training environments. Police officers engaged in the often complex and challenging work of public safety deserve and expect objective, thorough, and timely handling of complaints. Complainants and other stakeholders seek accountability and transparency when an officer behaves in a way that raises questions about their professionalism. The Complaint Investigations Manual provides instruction on handling misconduct complaints in a manner that will ensure the goals of law enforcement and stakeholders are met.

The authors intentionally use a broad approach to make the Manual relevant and easy to use by law enforcement personnel, civilians in oversight or other capacities who work on police misconduct matters, and the criminal justice academic community. It is a critical primer for internal affairs investigators, police managers, law enforcement leaders, auditing professionals, civilian oversight practitioners, government representatives, community advocates, criminal and social justice students, and all others in pursuit of fair, thorough, and timely investigations of police misconduct complaints.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367404352
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	07/16/2020
Series:	Routledge Series on Practical and Evidence-Based Policing
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	116
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Barbara Attard, a police practices consultant at Accountability Associates, has held executive positions in a variety of oversight agencies conducting quality control of police misconduct investigations. Throughout her career she has developed and conducted training on investigations, oversight, ethics, report writing, and community engagement in the United States and internationally. With a focus on accountability systems that ensure fairness and transparency, Barbara's work includes consulting on development of independent oversight programs, providing expert witness testimony, and authoring publications on oversight and mediation.

Kathryn Olson, a partner in Change Integration Consulting, LLC, has deep and broad experience in law, executive leadership, and training, which combine to create a unique skill set to assess practices that impact law enforcement professionals and the communities served. She brings an extensive background in conducting investigations of complex, sensitive complaints in unionized environments, along with personnel and operations management experience, in co-authoring the Police Misconduct Complaint Investigations Manual. Kathryn’s diverse consulting practice includes handling complaints against police commanders, evaluating investigation systems and developing improvement strategies, and serving as an expert witness on investigation best practices and procedural justice.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xiv

Preface to the Second Edition xv

1 Introduction 1

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Police Killing of George Floyd-A Call For Transformation 1

The Rodney King Case-the Need for Reform, Including Changes to the Complaint Investigation and Discipline Systems 2

2 Complaint Intake and the Initial Assessment Process 4

A Is This the Proper Place to Resolve the Complaint? 5

B Administrative Complaints-Intake Process 6

1 Accepting Misconduct Complaints 7

2 Types of Allegations Raised in Misconduct Complaints 7

3 Conducting the Intake Interview 9

4 Establishing Officer Identification 11

5 Developing an Investigative Plan 13

6 Conducting the Preliminary Investigation 13

7 Preliminary Steps for Investigating Allegations of Bodily Injury 13

C Defining Allegations and Assessing the Underlying Incident for Additional Claims 14

D Investigative Timelines, Communicating with Complainants and Officers, and Complaint Tracking 15

1 Investigative Timelines 16

2 Communicating with Complainants and Officers 16

3 Tracking Systems 16

E Mediation/Alternative Dispute Resolution Options 17

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Complaint Investigation Overview 5

Handling High Profile Incidents 6

Complaint Verification 7

Complaints That May Require Prioritization 8

Pending Criminal Charges 9

Retaliation Should Be Explicitly Prohibited 10

Conducting an Officer Photo Lineup 12

Off-Duty Conduct 14

Mediation Considerations 17

3 Complaint Classification and the Investigation Process 19

A Complaints Classified for Investigation 22

B Organizational Tools: Investigation Plan and Witness/Evidence Matrix 22

1 Allegation Review 22

2 Identifying Individuals to Interview 23

3 Identifying and Collecting Documentary/Physical Evidence 24

4 Milestones and Timelines 25

C Witness Interview Strategies and Techniques 26

1 Determining the Order and Timing of Interviews 26

2 Interview Preparation Considerations-Documents and Topics to Cover 26

3 Conducting Investigations or Interviews with a Primary and Secondary Investigator 27

4 Administrative and Legal Issues Specific to Interviewing Law Enforcement Witnesses 27

5 Interviewing Non-Law Enforcement Witnesses 28

6 Recording the Interview 29

7 Setting the Tone and Introductory Remarks 30

8 Asking Proper Questions to Elicit Authentic and Complete Statements 30

9 Leading versus Non-Leading Questions 31

10 Establishing a Clear and Complete Record of the Interview 31

11 Concluding the Interview 32

D Completing the Investigation-Reviewing the Investigation Plan 33

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Referral of Minor Complaints to Police Supervisors 21

Investigative Supervision 22

Witness/Evidence Matrix 23

Subject Matter Experts 25

Handling Conflict of Interest Situations 29

Non-Leading versus Leading Questions 31

4 Finalizing the Investigation: Evaluating Evidence, Determining Findings, Making Recommendations, Report Writing, and Complaint Closure 35

A Standard of Review 37

B Evaluating Evidence and Making Credibility Determinations 38

C Investigation Findings 39

D Summarizing the Evidence and Completing the Investigative Report 39

E Recommendations Stemming from Issues Discovered During Complaint Investigations 40

F Supervisory Review of Completed Investigations 41

G Discipline, and Other Corrective Action 41

H Complaint Closure: File Organization Review, Notification to Parties, and Transmission of Case Records 42

I Data Collection 43

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Preponderance of the Evidence 37

Changes Recommended Although Allegations Not Proven Against Officer Who Shot Michael Brown Jr. 40

Complaint Closure 42

5 Special Issues in Investigating or Reviewing Police Misconduct Complaints 45

A Concurrent Administrative Investigations 47

B Complaints of Potential Civil Rights Violations or Other Claims 48

C Complaints Involving Potential Criminal Misconduct 48

D Complaints Involving Equal Employment Opportunity Matters 51

E Complaints Alleging Biased Policing 51

F Complaints Involving Social Media Postings by Officers 52

G Video/Audio Complaint Evidence from In-Car and Body Cameras 52

H Complaints Related to Demonstrations and Other Large Events 53

L Critical Incident Roll Out 54

J Regular Review of Claims and Litigation for Misconduct Issues 54

K Technological Advances 54

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Oversight Involvement in Complaint Adjudication 47

Peer Intervention Can Save Lives and Careers 49

Timing Discipline with the Criminal Investigation 50

Police Interactions with Transgender, Non-Binary, and Gender Non-Conforming People 52

The Role of Video and Audio Recordings in the Laquan McDonald Case 53

Officer Identification 53

6 Reporting Out-Statistics, Recommendations, and More 57

A Statistical Reports 59

B Examples of Data and Issues to Track 61

1 Complaint Demographics and Investigation Issues 61

2 Use of Force-Related Tracking Issues 61

3 Search-Related Tracking Issues 62

4 Additional Topics for Tracking 62

C Reporting on Polity and Training Recommendations 64

D Use of Reports to Illustrate the Investigation Process 65

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Make Statistics Relevant 60

Jurisdiction Specific Tracking 63

Monitoring Policy and Training Changes-Lessons from Eric Garner's Death 65

7 Personnel and Training Considerations 67

A Investigation Skills Training 69

1 Misconduct Investigation Basics 69

2 Law Enforcement Department Standards and Procedures 70

3 Transparency and Accountability for the Investigative Office 70

B Training Resources 70

C Examples of Legal Issues Relevant to Police Misconduct Investigations 72

1 Use of Force 72

2 Stops, Searches, and In-Custody Questioning 73

3 Misconduct Complaint Investigation Procedures 75

4 Disclosure of Investigation Materials for Criminal Proceedings 76

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The Changing Legal Landscape 72

The Development of Higher Use of Force Standards 73

A Challenge to NYPD's Stop and Frisk Practices 74

Law Enforcement Questioning of Juveniles 75

8 Administrative Operations 77

A Information About the Investigative Office and Accessibility 79

B Stakeholder Outreach 80

C Confidentiality 81

D Conflict of Interest 81

E Code of Ethics and Unbiased Treatment 81

F Non-Retaliation 82

G Organizing and Securing Complaint Files and Documentation 82

H Retention and Public Disclosure of Complaint Files 82

I Legal Counsel 82

J Investigative Office Evaluations 83

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Develop a Mission Statement 79

9 Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement 85

A Oversight in the United States 87

B Models and Functions of Oversight 88

C Components Contributing to Successful Oversight 88

1 Independent and Diverse 88

2 Political Will-Support of and Access to Government Officials 89

3 Ample Authority 89

4 Adequate Funding 89

5 Training and Qualifications for Effective Oversight 89

6 Garnering Community/Stakeholder Support and Outreach 90

D Research on Civilian Oversight and Complaint- Investigations 90

E The National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) 90

1 Core Competencies 90

2 Code of Ethics 91

3 NACOLE Credential and Qualification Standards 91

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National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) 88

10 Conclusion 93

References 95

Index 99