Item B: Meeting w/Police Comm. - Laserfiche WebLink

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Police Complaint System and Civilian Oversight Recommendations be specified by ordinance. The Police Commission recognizes that the auditor's level of involvement in a specific case will depend on the type of allegation. For instance, internally- generated investigations that involve employee performance issues may not merit the same attention and resources as other cases, but these decisions need to be made on a case-by-case basis. In the course of monitoring an open investigation, the auditor may sit-in on and participate in investigative interviews involving employees, complainants and/or witnesses. A policy statement may be necessary to clarify that employees are required to cooperate fully with the investigative process and the auditor as part of that process. In his/her review of an investigation, the auditor may require additional investigation by internal affairs staff to ensure that, to the extent feasible, all relevant investigative leads were explored and the facts of the case have been fully established. Additionally, if while monitoring a case, the auditor believes that the standards for a high quality investigation are not being met, the auditor can contract with an outside entity to assume the investigation. Adjudication Recommendations Once the investigative portion of the complaint review is complete, all case materials will be provided to the auditor. The auditor will make every reasonable effort to contact the complainant to let him/her know that the investigation is complete, summarize the case findings, and determine if the complainant has any additional information to share relevant to the case. One of the objectives of this contact is to promote a better understanding of the process and options available to the complainant, including possible involvement of the review board once the case is closed. Also, if new information is provided during this contact, the auditor can then direct further investigation. If the auditor is satisfied that the investigation is complete at this point, s/he will meet with the involved employee's supervisor to develop a case adjudication recommendation that will then be forwarded up the chain of command to the Chief of Police. Any disagreements on the adjudication recommendation between the auditor and the command staff will be documented and forwarded to the Chief. Final adjudication and discipline decisions rest with the Chief of Police. An associated effort pertaining to case adjudications was to review the existing disposition terms and determine if other adjudication types and/or names would help complainants better understand the outcome of their complaint. It is important to note that these terms apply only to complaints that have undergone an investigation; these definitions do not apply to complaint outcomes that, after being classified, are processed without a formal investigation. The revised adjudications being recommended are as follows: 1) Sustained: The complainant's allegation(s) were determined to be a violation of EPD's policies, rules, and/or procedures and, by a preponderance of the evidence, the employee(s) involved committed the violation as alleged. 2) Insufficient Evidence~: The chain of command was unable to determine, by a preponderance of the evidence, whether or not a violation of EPD's policies, rules, and/or procedures occurred. Replaces "Not Sustained" 18