INTERNAL
AFFAIRS UNIT
The offices of the Internal Affairs
Unit are located within the Century Towers Building, 635 S. Woodland, Suite
2105. The office is staffed by one Captain, two Sergeants, ten Detectives,
and two Investigative Typists. Office hours are 7:30 am. to 3:30 p.m.,
Monday through Friday. The office telephone number is (816) 889-6620.
Understanding that complaints,
commendation events and critical incidents contain valuable management
information and performance indicators that the police department needs to know,
the Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) is responsible for conducting investigations
related to the following incidents:
1.
Allegations of misconduct filed through the Office of
Community Complaints forwarded for investigation by the Director of the Office
of Community Complaints.
2.
Disarming of an officer, discharge of a firearm by a
member, and discharge of a member's service firearm by a non-department
member.
3.
Allegations of discrimination and/or harassment based
on age, sex, color, religion, disabilities, or national origin that are
forwarded by the Chief of Police for investigation.
4.
Miscellaneous investigations, to include commendation
and honor awards and all other investigations directed by the Chief of
Police.
IAU investigations are to be objective and thorough in order to build
public confidence in police intolerance of misconduct as well
as build department members' confidence that they will be vindicated if
unjustly accused.
Internal
Affairs Unit investigations are to be fair (all witnesses treated the same),
complete (all pertinent evidence included in the file), thorough (all issues
identified and investigated), and objective (interviews and investigation
conducted without bias) in order to build
public confidence in the police department’s commitment to accountability and
intolerance of misconduct as well as to build department members' confidence that they will be
vindicated when unjustly accused.
It is the
responsibility of the Internal Affairs Unit staff to make inquiries into the
facts and circumstances relating to an incident being investigated and to
provide the information to the finder of fact. The finder of fact then makes
recommendations relating to the classification of the complaint and/or
disciplinary recommendations. The Office of Community Complaints is the finder
of fact relating to Community Complaints and makes recommendations regarding the
classification of findings on Community Complaints. The subject member's Chain
of Command is responsible for making disciplinary
recommendations.
The Internal
Affairs Unit will respond to inquiries and answer questions from the Office of
Community Complaints, the community and department members to the full extent
allowed under the policies established by the Board of Police
Commissioners.
INTERNAL AFFAIRS DETECTIVE
I. Detectives are required to conduct a thorough and objective
investigation into complaints against department members made by non-department
community members and those that originate internally.
II. Duties related to OCC Complaint Investigations (examples):
1. Interview and obtain statements from complainants and subject officers.
2. Interview and/or obtain statements from witnesses.
3. Gather and Document all information relating to the investigation.
OCC INVESTIGATION
PROCEDURE
1. An O.C.C complaint can be
filed in the Office of Community Complaints, at any district station. Police
Headquarters, Move-Up Office, Westside CAN Center, Northland Neighborhoods
Office, and the St. Aloysius Church.
a) After the complaint is filed,
it will be forwarded to the Office of Community Complaints.
b) The Office of Community Complaints will categorize the complaint, assign
it a case file number, and will, if the OCC deems appropriate, forward it to
the Internal Affairs Unit for investigation. (Note:
alternative means of resolution may be offered by the OCC.)
2. On receipt of the complaint by the Internal Affairs Unit, the complaint
will be logged in, a file folder will be prepared, a detective will be assigned, and the
complaint will be reviewed
by the appropriate investigative supervisor.
3. Upon receiving the complaint, the assigned detective will:
1) Contact the complainant (and co-complainant if applicable).
2) Initial contact should be attempted by using the telephone numbers provided
by the complainant on the OCC report.
3) If telephone contact is unsuccessful, two letters will immediately be
forwarded to the complainant at the address provided on the OCC report. One
letter will be sent Certified Mail and a second letter via regular mail.
4) If no response is received after attempting to contact the complainant by
letter, the detective will leave a door hanger with a business card at the
address provided on the OCC report.
5) If a complainant cannot be located and/or a statement cannot be obtained
after the contact attempt methods listed have been exhausted, the complaint
will be closed without further IAU investigation.
6) When contact is made with the complainant, a statement should be scheduled
as soon as possible, preferably within 7 calendar days. If the complainant is
not able to respond within 7 calendar days, and schedules the statement beyond
7 days, the detective’s supervisor should be notified.
7) Attempt to gather all available information relating to the complaint (i.e.,
activity logs, in-car video, Taser logs, etc.).
4. Taking statements
a) Live statements will normally be taken. An investigative typist will be
utilized to take dictation. Prior to initiating the interview, the detective
will explain the Investigative Typist’s function to the complainant or
co-complainant.
b) A representative of OCC may be present during the taking of the
complainant’s formal statement, at the complainant’s discretion. Prior to
initiating the formal statement, the detective will explain the OCC
representative’s function to the complainant or co-complainant and determine
the complainant’s wishes regarding a representative’s presence. The
complainant’s decision will be confirmed within the complainant’s statement.
c) Assure the complainant that all allegations will be thoroughly investigated
upon completion of the signed statement.
d) Witness interviews and/or statements will be completed after the
complainant’s formal statement has been taken.
e) Statements of department members who are subjects of the complaint will be
taken after all other statements have been taken.
5. Completed Investigations
a) Completed investigative files will be forwarded through the investigative
supervisor and the IAU commander for review then forwarded to the OCC.
(Note: IAU makes no recommendations.)
b) The OCC will review the files, analyze the information and make a
recommendation of findings then forward the recommendation to the Chief of
Police and/or the Board of Police Commissioners for review and approval.
c) When it has been determined that a department member’s conduct violated
department policies and/or procedural guidelines, the investigative file is
forwarded through the member’s superiors for recommendations of appropriate
corrective measures and/or discipline.
Things to Remember:
1. The Police Department will not tolerate misconduct by department members and will take appropriate steps to modify inappropriate behavior and/or remove offending members when investigation reveals such misconduct has occurred.
2. The IAU is the element that is specifically assigned to investigate allegations of misconduct by department members and is responsible for conducting objective and thorough investigations.
3. Once a Community Complaint has been filed, Complainants are responsible for cooperating fully with OCC and IAU, as indicated on the Community Complaint Report form. Failure of a Complainant to cooperate will result in the complaint file being closed without investigation.
4. Complainants have a responsibility to provide information within the Community Complaint Report they file, and within their formal statements, that is true and accurate to the best of their personal knowledge. Untrue statements under oath or affirmation are punishable under law.
5. Mediation is
always an option available through the OCC.
6. If a Complainant has a charge (traffic, General Ordinance, misdemeanor,
etc.) pending before any Court, filing a complaint will not cause the charge to
be dismissed. The charge must be resolved in Court.
7. A complaint being filed will not prevent police from conducting legitimate
law enforcement related activities involving the Complainant or the area in
which he/she lives, works, frequents, or in which the event complained about
occurred.
8. Third party complaints are not investigated (if the complaining party was
not involved or a direct witness to the incident involving police, a Community
Complaint will not be investigated).
9. No investigations are conducted regarding the validity of a search warrant
that was signed / approved by a judge.