combined-10th-11th-report.pdf

Negotiated Settlement Agreement, Combined Tenth and Eleventh Semi-Annual Report December 2008, IMPROVED INVESTIGATIONS OF USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS The Agreement required the Department to adopt new policies and procedures to investigate force incidents so that the City is better equipped to detect force trends or inappropriate application of force. Better reporting and investigation of force incidents allows the City and the Department to identify training issues, provide intervention services to officers in need, protect citizens from unnecessary uses of police force, manage risk, and reduce liability. In February 2006, the Department published the new Use of Force policies; DGO K-3, Use of Force; DGO K-4, Reporting and Investigating Use of Force; and DGO K-4.1, Force Review Boards. Training compliance for these policies was attained in May 2006, with over 700 members and applicable professional staff being trained. Additional training is offered when necessary. The Department has revised and will continue to revise its newly adopted investigative procedures to remove any redundancies and inefficiencies found in the process. Our goal was to make our procedures attainable and sustainable, assuring that they do not hamper personnel’s ability to do their work. Revisions were approved by the IMT and were published August 1, 2007. The revised policies save time in the field investigations and also give supervisors more discretion to determine what level of force investigation to conduct, while still holding them accountable for their decisions. Implementing these policies has improved the quality and completeness of the Department’s force investigations. Use of force investigation packets now contain detailed information not previously included, resulting in better, more complete investigations. = Reviewers are provided the information needed to determine the appropriateness of force used and to hold supervisors accountable for how investigations are conducted in the field. = Involved and witness officers are now separated while being interviewed, and they are completing their own reports to provide an accurate account of the incident. = If misconduct is discovered during the course of the use of force investigation, supervisors are required to initiate an investigation. = Additionally, strides are being made to identify poor tactical decisions if they occur during the course of the incident, and to provide follow up training for the officers. Officers and sergeants continue to improve the reporting and investigation of force incidents. Both IAD and the Citizens’ Police Review Board are receiving fewer force complaints. Thorough investigations are conducted by IAD of all allegations of inappropriate force, revealing few in which the force was found out of policy. IMT audits of Use of Force showed significant improvement in the way OPD reports and investigates use of force incidents. The audits found the Department in full compliance with Tasks 24 and 31, which require that a supervisor be notified of use of force incidents and respond 10