200-03 Investigation of Employee Misconduct Flashcards
The department shall investigate ____ incidents of alleged misconduct brought to its attention.
all
All employees, regardless of rank, assignment, or function, are required to ____ in the investigation of complaints
cooperate
The department’s disciplinary system shall be governed in accordance with all applicable state and federal law and shall be guided by the ____
Houston Police Department Corrective Action Manual.
IAD Commanders are…
The commander of Internal Affairs Division/Central Intake Office (IAD/CIO), the assistant chief of the Professional Standards Command, the executive assistant chief of Strategic Operations, and the Chief of Police.
Reasonable Opportunity:
This shall be generally construed as to allow sufficient time to locate counsel or a representative, review the interrogatories and related documents, and obtain advice.
Retaliation:
Conduct or decisions that a reasonable employee would view as materially adverse and whose purpose or effect is to discourage employees from exercising their rights under policy or under the law
Formal Complaint:
A complaint in writing, signed and notarized by a complainant, or a complaint made by a peace officer.
Informal Complaint:
Oral or unsigned complaint.
Class I Complaints:
Alleged violations of federal or state laws or local ordinances, or alleged use of excessive force (e.g., hitting, slapping, kicking, striking with an object, causing pain, or some other excessive force resulting in bodily injury).
All Class I complaints shall be formalized and forwarded to
IAD/CIO
If there are any questions as to how a complaint is to be classified, supervisors shall contact
IAD/CIO
Class II (D) Complaints:
Complaints involving alleged violations of department policies or those that are not criminal in nature.
Who investigates Class II (D) Complainant?
The employee’s immediate supervisor or another supervisor from the employee’s division usually investigates these complaints.
Class II (X) Complaints:
Expedited cases typically involving allegations administrative in nature (e.g., missed court or failure to qualify) and normally involving one employee.
Exonerated:
Incident occurred, but was lawful and proper.
Never Formalized:
Complainant did not submit a formal sworn statement.
Not Sustained:
The evidence was insufficient to either prove or disprove the allegation.
Sustained:
Evidence is sufficient to prove the allegation. Any sustained allegation, regardless of its classification, may form the basis for disciplinary action.
Unfounded:
Allegation is false or not factual.
____ investigations should be used when discipline is the most appropriate response to an employee’s continued performance deficiency.
Expedited Class II
The ____ provides a list of administrative violations that may be resolved using an expedited Class II investigation and can be expanded to include misconduct when certain conditions are met.
Houston Police Department Corrective Action Manual
Supervisors have broad discretion whether to resolve complaints using ____ or ____ except when expressly limited.
1) Supervisory Intervention (SI)
2)Class II investigations
Discretion, to the extent that prudence and good order dictate, is encouraged. Likewise, it is encouraged to use ____ in circumstances, other than administrative type violations, when the employee acknowledges culpability and accepts responsibility for all of the alleged misconduct.
expedited Class II investigations
Usually, Class II investigations are conducted by the____
employee’s immediate supervisor
If the immediate supervisor is the complainant or a person who has any personal involvement regarding the alleged misconduct, then ____ shall be assigned to conduct the Class II investigation
any other supervisor within the division
All complaints coming to the attention of an employee shall be reported to the ____
employee’s immediate supervisor.
____ in any form is strictly prohibited. Any employee found to have retaliated
against any employee or non-employee shall receive disciplinary action up to and including indefinite suspension.
Retaliation
Employees who receive information about or observe incidents involving unnecessary or excessive use of force, misconduct, violations of criminal statutes, or abuse of authority by any other employee shall first____
take immediate action to protect citizens.
Employees who receive such information shall report the incident to their immediate supervisor. If there is a need to protect the confidentiality of the information, reporting employees may bring the matter directly to IAD/CIO.
If a complainant is anonymous, the employee receiving the anonymous complaint must
certify under oath the complainant was in fact anonymous.
First-line supervisors shall take an active role in the
development, motivation, and when necessary, discipline of employees
they supervise.
Supervisors have broad discretion when implementing the disciplinary process.
All complaints (except those going directly to IAD/CIO) shall be referred to
a supervisor
The supervisor shall record all complaints (except as specified in the following) including complaints from third party witnesses, and forward them as provided by this General Order.
When receiving complaints, supervisors shall: A
Accept complaints from third party witnesses to an incident.
Any third party non-witnesses attempting to make a complaint shall be referred directly to IAD/CIO. The IAD/CIO commander may determine whether to accept a complaint from persons other than the aggrieved party.
When receiving complaints, supervisors shall: B
Accept and record phone-in complaints that involve allegations of serious misconduct (Class I).
Other phone-in complainants shall be advised to make the complaint in person in order that a notarized statement can be obtained with the complaint. Supervisors may also advise complainants they can mail their notarized statement with specific details of the incident directly to IAD/CIO.
When receiving complaints, supervisors shall: C
Forward all mailed written complaints to IAD/CIO for processing.
When receiving complaints, supervisors shall: D
Record complaints on the Issue Record Form (IRF).
Upon receipt and recording of complaints, supervisors shall immediately notify their commander.
When receiving complaints, supervisors shall: E
Immediately notify IAD/CIO, pursuant to General Order 300-32, Processing Complaints and Employee Issues, if they receive a Class I complaint under either of the following circumstances:
1. The investigation of the complaint would be hindered by a delay.
2. The complaint involves a felony or a breach of the peace that is occurring or just occurred.
If an involved employee is present at the complaint scene, supervisors shall not allow the employee to leave until authorized by
IAD/CIO
An employee’s immediate supervisor or a supervisor discovering an infraction shall determine whether to proceed through the formal complaint process as a
Class I or II complaint or as an SI.
When supervisors discover possible infractions by employees not within their command, they should consult with ____ or a ____before initiating a Class II complaint.
1) the employee’s immediate supervisor
2) supervisor within the employee’s chain of command
Supervisors have the right, duty, and responsibility at any time to inquire as to the facts of a circumstance or situation in order to make management, operational, administrative, or organizational decisions. A ____ notice is not required before discussing the original infraction with an employee.
48 hour notice
However, if the inquiring supervisor becomes the ____ in a Class I or II complaint, the same inquiring supervisor may not further investigate such alleged violation.
1) the complainant
Additionally, if the inquiring supervisor becomes the complainant in a Class I or II complaint, the same inquiring supervisor may not participate in the ____
process of recommending discipline for the violation.
Supervisors should keep in mind that ____ issues do not equate to disciplinary issues.
job performance and productivity
Concerns regarding an employee’s job performance and productivity, or lack thereof, should not be handled through the ____
disciplinary process