Complaints against Employees / Grievances

Question 1

A civilian complains to you about the lousy job your unit is doing. You will

Answer 1

advise him that you’ll investigate.

Question 2

What should you do if you observe a police officer placing a bet in a barber shop?

Answer 2

Notify the Chief

Question 3

You are a patrol supervisor and are off duty - You observe a cop in civilian clothes taking money from a pusher. What do you do?

Answer 3

Record and Investigate

Question 4

The PRIMARY OBJECTIVES of an effective PERSONNEL COMPLAINT INVESTIGATION policy are to

Answer 4

1. Protect integrity and reputation of department (force)
2. Protect the public interest
3. Protect accused employee from UNJUST accusation
   (make sure the objective has “from unjust accusations”)

Question 5

Complaint from John Q. about bad traffic summons - What should you do?

Answer 5

Explain Department procedure to him.

Question 6

A citizen complains that when PO Smith gave him a summons, Smith was rude. You should

Answer 6

tell the citizen it be be investigated. *Not the same if he says he didn’t go through the stop sign.

Question 7

When investigating a complaint of misconduct against one of your officers, remember he is

Answer 7

entitled to due process.

Question 8

A civilian complaint against PO Mullins was unfounded. After this, additional evidence, which may not be good for Mullins, comes to light. You should

Answer 8

try to verify this new info

Question 9

*If there is a confusing question about objective of a complaint investigation procedure - Choices did NOT include

Answer 9

EMPLOYEE FROM UNJUST ACCUSATION

Question 10

If a prisoner alleges that he was beaten by the arresting officer, the allegation must be

Answer 10

investigated and the prisoner must be interviewed.

Question 11

If an investigation into alleged police misconduct regarding excessive force is substantiated, then

Answer 11

prompt disciplinary action regarding the involved officer must be taken.

*Prompt discipline is not a bad choice - SWIFTNESS is a requisite for discipline

Question 12

When someone complains about civil rights being violated and wants the police Officer to be held liable, you should

Answer 12

determine if the officer involved was carrying out his sworn duty.

Question 13

An important reason for investigating civilian complaints against a police officer is to

Answer 13

maintain public confidence.

Question 14

When an anonymous complaint is made alleging that PO Mullins made unwanted sexual advances during a traffic stop, you should

Answer 14

determine whether any similar complaints have been made against him.

Question 15

Most important reason to investigate all civilian complaints is to

Answer 15

protect the department from accusation of preferential treatment.

*If there is a competing answer that says the reason is to protect the public from actual police misconduct - you may have to GUESS

Question 16

When you receive a complaint about one of your cops, you should

Answer 16

interview the cop about the incident

Question 17

If a civilian complains about receiving a traffic ticket, and NOTHING MORE, then you should

Answer 17

tell him to go to court.

Question 18

Grievances are often symptoms of

Answer 18

more serious problems.

Question 19

What should you do if there is a split in department union election?

Answer 19

Bring two sides together and resolve it IF the problem relates to the job.

Question 20

As Chief, you have several unit C.O.’s reporting directly to you. A spokesman for a unit under one of your COs comes to you with a grievance regarding job assignments made by the CO. You should

Answer 20

determine FIRST if the matter was discussed with the CO. same applies to lower ranks.

Question 21

Assume the Chief calls in the CO that he has a grievance against him, and he becomes defensive and angry. You should

Answer 21

tell him of the complaint and ask his advice on how to deal with it.

Question 22

If cop with a grievance is extremely upset, you should

Answer 22

calm him so you can get the facts.

Question 23

When you have resolved all grievances satisfactorily, but grievances keep arising, you must

Answer 23

understand that the EXPRESSED GRIEVANCES may not be the REAL grievance.

Question 24

If a female officer complains to you about sexual innuendoes from male officers, assure her you will

Answer 24

investigate

Question 25

If subordinate comes to you with FULLY EXPLAINED GRIEVANCE, you should

Answer 25

investigate it

Question 26

Should FOUL LANGUAGE by male partner in presence of female partner be considered SEXUAL DISCRIMINATION?

Answer 26

NO

Question 27

When a police officer complains to a Lt that her Sgt will not listen to her and calls her “bitch”, the Lt should

Answer 27

speak to the Sgt

Question 28

A complaint about SEXUALLY SUGGESTIVE comments should be

Answer 28

CLARIFIED

Question 29

If a police officer complains to a Lt about the actions of the officer’s Sgt, the Lt should advised the officer to

Answer 29

speak to his sergeant first

Question 30

If PO Mullins comes to you with a fully explained grievance, you should

Answer 30

explain to Mullins what you understand the grievance to be

Question 31

A subordinate who comes to the boss with an unfounded grievance should be

Answer 31

treated in such a way that he knows he was fairly treated

Question 32

When a subordinate seems upset while carrying out an assignment, you should

Answer 32

ask him what is bothering him.

Question 33

When grievances keep occurring, they may be

Answer 33

indicative of some other problem

Question 34

The troops complain about one of your sergeants. You call him in and he becomes angry and defensive. You should

Answer 34

ask him how he would solve the problem

Question 35

If PO Mullins comes to you with a grievance, you should

Answer 35

explain to Mullins what you understand the grievance to be

Question 36

When a formal and contractual GRIEVANCE is filed and the Captain disagrees with the decision of the Lt, the best choice seems to be that the Captain should

Answer 36

meet with the Lt and give him the opportunity to change his decision.

**Proceeding to hearing, skipping over the Lt, and issuing a dept wide written directive doesn’t seem to be the best way to handle it.

Question 37

When female officer complains about her male officer’s use of vulgar language and her holding offense to it, you should

Answer 37

speak with her partner about his use of vulgar language

Question 38

Rookie cop complains about a senior cop’s work habits - you should

Answer 38

ask complaining cop for more details
*Investigate/Interview/Get the Facts!

Question 39

If your subordinate comes to you and openly discuss their job complaints, it is a sign that

Answer 39

you do a good job handling employee complaints.