200-3 Investigation of Employee Misconduct Flashcards
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.
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.
Class II (D) Complaints
Complaints involving alleged violations of department policies or those that are not criminal in nature.
The employee’s immediate supervisor or another supervisor from the employee’s division usually investigates these complaints.
Class II (D) 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.
Expedited Class II investigations should be used when discipline is the ________ to an employee’s continued performance deficiency.
most appropriate response
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 _____ discretion whether to resolve complaints using Supervisory Intervention (SI) or Class II investigations except when expressly limited.
broad
Likewise, it is encouraged to use expedited Class II investigations in circumstances, other than administrative type violations, when the employee acknowledges ______ and accepts ________ for all of the alleged misconduct.
culpability, responsibility
Usually, Class II investigations are conducted by the employee’s _______ supervisor.
immidiate
If the immediate supervisor is the complainant or a person who has any personal involvement regarding the alleged misconduct, then any other supervisor _________ shall be assigned to conduct the Class II investigation
within the division
All complaints coming to the attention of an employee shall be reported to the employee’s ________.
immediate supervisor.
Retaliation 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
Employees who _______ information about or _______ incidents involving unnecessary or excessive use of force, misconduct, violations of criminal statutes, or abuse of authority by any other employee shall first _________ to protect citizens. Employees who receive such information shall report the incident to their ________.
receive, observe, take immediate action; immediate supervisor
First-line supervisors shall take an active role in the ________, ________, and when necessary _______ of employees they supervise.
development, motivation, discipline
Supervisors have _______ when implementing the disciplinary process.
broad discretion
If there is a need to protect the confidentiality of the information, reporting employees may bring the matter directly to _______.
IAD/CIO
When receiving complaints, supervisors shall:
Read Section 3
When supervisors discover possible infractions by employees not within their command, they ______consult with the employee’s immediate supervisor or a supervisor within the employee’s chain of command before initiating a Class II complaint.
should
However, if the inquiring supervisor becomes the complainant in a Class I or II complaint, the same inquiring supervisor may not further _________.
investigate such alleged violation.
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 job performance and productivity issues do not equate to _______.
disciplinary issues.
All Class I allegations against an employee shall be investigated by lAD/CIO, except by order of the ________.
commander of IAD/CIO.
All Class II allegations against an employee shall be investigated by the employee’s division, unless otherwise determined by the commander of lAD/CIO.
employee’s division
The ________ shall have the authority and discretion to assign the criminal aspects of a Class I complaint to the appropriate criminal investigative division for investigation.
commander of lAD/CIO
The concerned employee and the complainant shall be notified in writing by the assigned investigator whenever a complaint has been received and filed. However, if ______ designates the complaint confidential, the employee shall not be notified.
an lAD commander
_____ shall serve as a fact-finding entity for investigations of employee misconduct. _____ shall classify all complaints brought to the attention of the department as either a Class I or II complaint.
IAD/CIO
lAD/Cia shall notify employees and complainants of the disposition of Class I and II complaints upon receiving the final decision from the Chief of Police. If a complaint is deemed confidential, notification shall be made at the discretion of an _______.
IAD Commander
________ shall notify employees and complainants of SI dispositions.
Division commanders
No employee, regardless of rank, assignment, or function, shall contact or interfere with lAD/Cia personnel or other department investigators regarding ongoing administrative or criminal investigations of any employee. Any inquiries regarding these matters shall be directed to the ___________.
Professional Standards Command or Strategic Operations.
The______, _______, and _______ shall be notified when a complaint is designated confidential.
assistant chief of Professional Standards Command, the executive assistant chief of Strategic Operations, the Chief of Police
At any time, ______, _______, _________, or the ________ may require progress reports regarding any complaint against an employee being investigated by the department.
the commander of lAD/CIO, the assistant chief of Professional Standards Command, executive assistant chief of Strategic Operations
If the complainant to an incident does not verify the complaint in an affidavit, an investigation may still be conducted. However, the employee cannot be required to ________ to an interrogation.
respond
Employees who are the subject of the following types of complaints may be required to respond to an interrogation when:
When a peace officer is the complainant. (No affidavit is necessary.)
or
If a third-party witness of police misconduct is a complainant.
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 managerial, operational, administrative, or organizational decisions. Therefore, a 48-hour notice is ________ before discussing the original infraction with an employee
not required
The department shall provide employees with a ______ of the time and location of a meeting or hearing (including interviews and interrogations) that is administrative in nature. (See Corrective Action Manual, Part Three, section 1, subsections A., S., and C.)
48-hour notice
If an investigator is conducting an investigation at the scene immediately after an incident occurred, the investigator may proceed with the investigation and furnish the concerned employee with written notification _________.
as soon as possible.
Accused employees have the option of having their immediate supervisor present during interrogations regarding investigations of _________.
non-criminal misconduct
Accused employees are not permitted to have counsel present during an interview regarding an investigation of __________.
non-criminal misconduct
Accused employees are permitted to have counsel present during an interrogation regarding an investigation of __________.
criminal conduct
Investigators shall ________ employees with punitive action during interrogations. Investigators may inform employees that failure to truthfully answer reasonable questions directly related to the investigation or failure to fully cooperate in the investigation may result in punitive action.
not threaten
Employees can be _______ to answer questions and are subject to discipline with measures up to and including indefinite suspension for refusal to answer questions. Any required statements may be used against employees in a disciplinary action or other civil proceeding.
required
Employees may be interrogated only during their _______, unless the Chief of Police or an lAD commander determines the seriousness of the investigation requires interrogation at another time.
normal duty hours
The _____ reviews all non-Class I investigations that result in a divisional discipline recommendation for category B or lower.
DADC
DADC stands for?
Divisional Administrative Disciplinary Committe (DADC)
The DADC reviews cases and either agrees or disagrees with the recommendation stated in ______ of the Disciplinary Category Worksheet (Corrective Action Manual).
Step Four
DAU stands for?
Disciplinary Action Unit (DAU)
If the committee disagrees with the original recommendation, correspondence shall be attached to the file and the ________ shall forward the investigation to the division for a final determination of discipline.
Disciplinary Action Unit (DAU)
ADC stands for?
Administrative Disciplinary Committee (ADC)
The _____ shall review investigations of complaints submitted to it by the Chief of Police.
ADC
The Mayor’s Executive Order 1-5, Independent Police Oversight Board describes the IPOB and its role within the department’s internal investigations involving any of the following allegations or circumstances:
Use of force.
Discharge of firearms.
Incidents resulting in serious bodily injury or death.
Any other investigations requested and approved for review by the Chief of Police.
Notwithstanding the authority vested within the IPOB, the ________ or designee shall retain final authority over the outcome of internal investigations.
Chief of Police
IPOB stands for?
Independent Police Oversight Board
Mid managers shall prepare a ______ on all sustained IAD/CIO investigations on employees under their supervision. Depending on the violation, the recommendation shall be forwarded through the offending employee’s chain of command to at least the assistant chief level.
a written recommendation
After the Chief of Police receives the file of a completed investigation in which IAD/CIO sustained an allegation, the Chief of Police may:
Choose to sustain the allegation, impose the recommended discipline, or impose other disciplinary action. The Chief of Police shall forward the entire file to IAD/CIO for final processing.
Resubmit the file to the ADC for further review and recommendations.
Return the case to IAD/CIO or the investigating division for further investigatio
The employee’s division shall handle disciplinary suspensions of ____ days or ____. In those cases, employees shall be allowed to retain their HPD identifications, badges, and hat shields.
15 calender, less
All disciplinary suspensions of _____ or _____ shall be handled by IAD/CIO. In those cases, the HPD identification, badge, and hat shield shall be confiscated and stored in the Employee Services Division.
16 calendar, more
The Chief of Police may relieve an employee of duty at any point during the course of a misconduct investigation, especially when allowing an employee to remain on duty may compromise ________
the integrity of the department
Read
Section 10 Relieved of Duty
