8.330 Maintenance of Values and Ethics

Question 1

It is the policy of this department to investigate all complaints of employee misconduct, including harassment and discrimination, whether ______________, to effectively manage employee performance and conduct, and assure the public’s trust. This policy identifies how a complaint will be received, investigated, and adjudicated. It is not a substitute for coaching, counseling, or mentoring to improve performance. All references to complaints or investigations within this policy will be construed as complaints or investigations of employee misconduct as defined in Civil Service Rule 510 “Standards of Conduct.”

Answer 1

On- or off-duty

Question 2

MOVE

Employees are entitled to rights as outlined by statute and their respective collective bargaining agreements (CBA). Supervisors are encouraged to contact the on-call _____________ team leader if questions or procedural issues arise concerning internal investigations.

Answer 2

Internal Affairs Bureau (IAB)

Question 3

IAB – including IA investigators, the Criminal Investigations Section (CIS), the Employee Early Identification and Intervention Program (EIIP), and the Employment Diversity Section (EDS) – is the direct representative of the _______. IAB is authorized to report directly to the ________ concerning any investigation. Internal investigative files will be maintained by either IAB or EDS.

Answer 3

Sheriff

Sheriff

Question 4

IAB and bureau command investigators conducting internal investigations will receive the full cooperation of all department employees, whether subject, complainant, or witness. Failure to cooperate will be considered ________________ and will subject that employee to disciplinary measures up to and including termination. An interview with a department employee as a subject or witness is an official document.

Answer 4

Insubordination

Question 5

MOVE

Not considered formal investigations, these are conducted to determine the nature of the complaint.

Answer 5

Citizen Contact/Preliminary Inquiry

Question 6

Created by law to review internal investigations concerning complaints against commissioned police and corrections officers. It is the policy of this department to fully cooperate with CRB (under the terms of those laws and the operating agreement and its addenda) to ensure ________________ in LVMPD’s ability to effectively investigate conduct complaints.

Answer 6

Public confidence

Question 7

To ensure consistency, all requests from CRB, including those for training, site visits, and policy/SOP requests, will go through the _____.

Answer 7

IAB commander

In the absence of the IAB commander, the Deputy Chief of the Professional Standards Division will address all CRB requests.

Question 8

Disputes concerning the methods and procedures used by the department to provide various services. A customer service dispute is investigated by a supervisor with the goal of explaining and educating the complainant as to the operations of the department as well as improving service delivery by the department. A customer service dispute is not an allegation that involves a violation of law or department policy.

Answer 8

Customer Service Dispute

Question 9

Allegations of misconduct that if found to be true could result in discipline in a Written Reprimand. These cases can be investigated by the bureau upon approval and direction from IAB.

Answer 9

Minor Allegation Investigation

Question 10

Allegations of misconduct that if found to be true could result in a disciplinary transfer, suspension, demotion, or termination. All such cases will be investigated by IAB unless otherwise directed by the Sheriff or designee.

Answer 10

Major Allegation Investigation

Question 11

Internal investigation findings:

Answer 11

1. Sustained
2. Not sustained
3. Unfounded
4. Exonerated
5. Misconduct not based on complaint
6. Policy failure

Question 12

MOVE

Investigation established that misconduct occurred.

Answer 12

Sustained

Question 13

MOVE

Investigation failed to produce sufficient evidence to clearly prove or disprove the allegation.

Answer 13

Not sustained

Question 14

MOVE

The alleged act did not occur

Answer 14

Unfounded

Question 15

MOVE

The alleged act did occur but was justified, legal, and proper.

Answer 15

Exonerated

Question 16

MOVE

Misconduct occurred but was not a part of the original complaint

Answer 16

Misconduct not based on complaint

Question 17

MOVE

The act did occur and was in compliance with department policy; however, the determination is the allegation of misconduct could have been prevented had policy been more clear or complete.

Answer 17

Policy failure

Question 18

MOVE

Burden of Proof: The department’s burden of proof for internal investigations is that of ______________________. Therefore, before an employee may be held accountable for their conduct, the investigation must demonstrate that the conduct was substantially more likely than not to have occurred. This is a stricter burden of proof than preponderance of evidence; however, it is a lesser requirement than proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

Answer 18

Clear and convincing evidence

Question 19

Complaints will be accepted from any source and will be received with minimum inconvenience to the complainant. ______________ complaints will be evaluated by IAB to determine the extent to which they should be investigated.

Answer 19

Anonymous

Question 20

IAB will be immediately notified of any incident or complaint alleging a major violation, alcohol or drug abuse, or criminal acts by an employee. CIS will be immediately notified of any reports of criminal acts disclosed by a citizen or employee that are not the result of a ______________________. The CIS supervisor and IAB supervisor will confer to determine if it is appropriate for IAB to suspend all administrative inquiries pending the outcome of the criminal investigation.

Answer 20

Compelled statement

Question 21

All other complaints against department employees alleging policy violations that could result in discipline will be documented on an SOC and forwarded directly to IAB for review and assignment for investigation. Not all _________________ will rise to the level of an SOC.

Answer 21

Citizen contacts

Question 22

Who’s responsibility is it to:
1. Interview the complainant to determine the facts and circumstances of the alleged misconduct. If the complaint is not an allegation that involves a violation of department policy or violation of law, handle the matter as a customer service dispute that will be documented on a citizen contact. If it does involve a violation of LVMPD policy or law, an SOC will be opened.
a. The SOC will document the nature of the complaint, the person making the complaint and any witnesses to the allegation. If the complainant only provides partial information, they will be advised that there may be a delay in the completion of the investigation.
b. Once the SOC is completed, it will be forwarded to IAB. If the complainant insists on making a complaint that may not equal misconduct in the supervisor’s estimation, an SOC will be completed and forwarded to IAB for review and conclusion.
2. Explain the investigatory process to the complainant.
3. If the complaint only involves the complainant’s disagreement with an established and proper department policy, procedure, rule, regulation, law, or practice, a supervisor conducting the inquiry will:
a. Explain to the complainant department policy, procedure, rule, regulation, law, or practice and how the issue does not rise to misconduct.
b. Document the discussion in Blue Team as a citizen contact.

Answer 22

The supervisor receiving or initiating the complaint

Question 23

Who’s responsibility is it to:
1. Conduct, or assign responsibility for, a preliminary investigation to determine if the complainant’s allegation constitutes misconduct, a customer service dispute, or a violation of department policy, procedure, rule, regulation, or law.
2. Upon completion of the preliminary investigation, determine if further investigation will occur and assign the investigation as follows:
a. Major allegations will be investigated by IAB unless otherwise directed by the Sheriff or
designee.
b. Minor allegations may be investigated by the bureau command. IAB will investigate those minor allegations not assigned to a bureau command and assume control over any investigation as needed.

Answer 23

IAB LT

Question 24

IAB will notify the ________________ when it is determined that employees will be investigated concerning possible misconduct. (For those investigations that require operational security, the decision to notify the bureau commander will be decided at the division commander level.)

Answer 24

Bureau commander

Question 25

For allegations of a minor nature that will be investigated by the bureau command, the bureau commander will ensure that the employee has been admonished and that the investigatory process is explained to the subject or witness employee by their __________________.

Answer 25

Direct supervisor

Question 26

_____ will admonish subject or witness employees for all allegations that will be investigated by IAB. In either case, all subject or witness employees will be admonished prior to sending a request for expedited investigation to the Office of Labor Relations (OLR).

Answer 26

IAB

Question 27

All internal investigations should be completed within ___ days unless approved by the IAB lieutenant.

Answer 27

90

90 days for full completion
30 days if being conducted by a bureau command

Question 28

Expedited investigations are an alternative method to a full investigation. When an employee readily acknowledges his action(s) and wants to conclude the matter promptly, an expedited investigation may occur, through the __________________.

Answer 28

Office of Labor Relations

Question 29

Complaints classified as minor allegations and referred to a bureau command may be handled as either:

Answer 29

1. Formal Investigations: Performance or misconduct issues alleged that, if true, may lead to discipline or the facts cannot be clearly determined without a full and formal investigation process.
2. Informal Investigations with Supervisory Intervention (requires a Contact Report, LVMPD 309): The allegation(s), if true, would not rise to a disciplinary level.

Question 30

MOVE

The bureau commander receiving an IAB Case Investigation Referral will:
1. Review the SOC received from IAB and assign the case for investigation, completion and return to IAB within ___ days. Advise IA lieutenant of subject employee/investigator conflicts or case complexity concerns. Any delays in completing the bureau level investigation within ___ days must be approved by the IAB lieutenant and a request for an extension made.

Answer 30

30

Question 31

MOVE

If an employee waives their 48 hour rights during a bureau level investigation, what must happen for the interview to proceed?

Answer 31

The interview will only proceed if either an association representative or the employee’s attorney is available to attend. There will be specific documentation that the employee has waived their rights and the waiver will be acknowledged and recorded either in writing or on tape by the employee or their representative.

Question 32

MOVE

When IAB receives a bureau level complaint, what do they do reference the investigation?

Answer 32

Concur with the findings, request additional investigation by the bureau, or assume control of the investigation

Question 33

Who approves all Policy Failure case dispositions and refers the issues of the case to the Quality Assurance Section for remediation.

Answer 33

IAB Commander

Question 34

Supervisory intervention may be used when allegation(s) are minor in nature, not a line item in the discipline matrix, and would best be addressed through ______________, ______________, or _____________. The decision to apply supervisory intervention rests with the employee’s bureau commander with input for consistency from IAB and OLR.

Answer 34

Coaching, counseling, or mentoring

Question 35

The two options for addressing sustained complaints:

Answer 35

1. Supervisor intervention
2. Formal discipline

Question 36

If a Written Reprimand is recommended, coordinate with OLR to send a notice of intent to issue discipline to the employee and representative. The employee has ___ business days to respond to the notice of intent. At the expiration of the ___ days, if a determination has been made to issue the Written Reprimand, work with OLR to complete the AOC.

Answer 36

10

Question 37

Can hours held in abeyance be offered if an employee currently has another discipline with the abeyance option in their personnel file?

Answer 37

Yes

The use of the abeyance option will depend on the violation and if class/counseling is appropriate for the current discipline. OLR will have the right to modify the abeyance in the event the employee has another sustained offense.