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| NEWS > 10 February 2007 |
Other related articles:
2 LAPD officers sue city over
Two Los Angeles police officers filed a lawsuit against the city Monday, alleging that the Police Department transferred them from gang-enforcement efforts in the troubled Jordan Downs housing project after gang members and their supporters made many unsustained complaints about them.
Southeast Division foot beat Officers Ryan Moreno and Chuck Garcia also charge that department investigators worked inappropriately with gang members on a sting operation that did not find any wrongdoing by the two.
For years, many police officers, especially in anti-gang units, have complai... Read more
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Hernando Today - Brooksville,F
10 February 2007
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.
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Hernando County Sheriff's Offi
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Policing the police
BROOKSVILLE — Sgt. Kathleen Reid can clear a room with an envelope.
It’s true the sheriff’s lone internal affairs investigator often serves allegations by hand. But Reid is amused when everyone watches her carry personal letters to the mail room.
“Everyone wants to see what office I’m going to,” she said, laughing.
Such is the life in internal affairs, the department assigned to “police the police.”
When a complaint is lodged against a deputy, it is Reid’s job determine whether the charges are true.
It could be simply solved in a matter of days, or take weeks to unravel a web of deceit.
Either way, Reid is armed with 36 years of law enforcement experience that began with communications in 1971. She also served 10 years as a Florida Highway Patrol trooper before moving to the Pinellas Park Police Department.
Her job as the internal affairs officer in Hernando County began three years ago, after serving nine years in Major Case Crimes. In three decades carrying a badge, she has never been the target of an internal affairs investigation.
Serving as a detective provided the skills needed to uncover lies and track down witnesses, but nothing could prepare her for internal affairs.
“The internal affairs process is so unlike any criminal investigation,” Reid said.
For starters, Reid has no subpoena power. Witnesses only volunteer to give statements and evidence such as personal phone records can only be asked for — not legally demanded.
“It’s very frustrating,” Reid said, because a witness will occasionally say he or she will make a statement then disappear later down the road.
Medical records are off limits, although in-house drug testing results are available. Fatal traffic accidents involving a deputy always require a drug and alcohol test.
In May 2006, a motorcyclist was killed when he slammed into a squad car traveling an estimated 100 mph. An internal affairs investigation later cleared the deputy, stating the deputy made a legal U-turn and blamed the motorcyclist for the fiery crash.
Reid also has tools like the automatic vehicle locator. Each squad car carries global positioning satellite equipment that tracks the vehicle’s movement.
While it principally serves as a safety feature, deputies know that if they stay in one spot too long, sleeping on the job, for example, they can be caught. It also determines whether a deputy was speeding.
Unlike criminal investigations, everything is out in the open for internal affairs. The deputy under scrutiny is provided with every scrap of evidence in the case and a full disclosure of the allegations.
Reid’s standards are not Florida statutes, but two thick tomes of policies that the sheriff’s office operates under.
Those guidelines regulate everything from when a deputy can pull a gun to proper uniform attire.
In the event the investigation uncovers evidence of criminal activity, Reid stops her investigation immediately and hands it over to detectives.
Some law enforcement agencies simultaneously run internal affairs and criminal investigations. Even if both investigations arrive at the same conclusion, detectives can only use their evidence in a case. Testimony given in internal affairs is not admissible in a court of law, according to Florida statutes.
Calling off the internal affairs investigation until court proceedings are finished ensures there is no confusion between the two, Reid said.
So what about the so-called “blue wall of silence”, the reluctance of sheriff’s brass to testify against each other?
Reid finds that sometimes deputies are not completely forthcoming when it invol-ves minor investigations. But when she presses for the truth, deputies fully open up, she said.
Everyone cooperates in major cases because being caught in a lie demolishes a future with the sheriff’s office. “No one wants to fall on the sword for their career,” Reid said.
Reid answers to a lieutenant, the chief deputy and the sheriff. The one complaint against her during three years was dismissed, she said.
Working internal affairs is not a glamorous job. Catch an episode of “Law & Order” on TV or any police movie and you’ll see the officers scorn internal affairs as “the rat squad.”
Reid finds her co-workers respect her, though, for what she provides to the agency. “They don’t want to work with people that don’t have the integrity to follow through with what policy reads,” she said.
How the process works
When a complaint is lodged against the department from the community, Reid evaluates it with the sheriff’s second-in-command Chief Deputy Michael Hensley. Allegations such as sexual harassment can also begin inside the sheriff’s office.
Some complaints will always fall under internal affairs, including excessive use of force, traffic accidents with fatalities and off-duty drug use. Others, such as rudeness, are passed on to the deputy’s immediate supervisors, who conduct a bureau level investigation.
“We only have one internal affairs investigator,” Hensley explained. In regards to rudeness complaints, “the bureau can give a better explanation,” because they come in contact with the deputy on a daily basis, he said.
A bureau level investigation last year sustained a charge that a traffic stop took 15 minutes too long. In his defense, the deputy said the driver kept interrupting him.
Another deputy was suspended from the off-duty detail program after he forgot to report to an after-hours assignment at a movie theater.
Reid finds that specific incidences are easier to investigate than determining whether a deputy’s behavior violated policy.
The deputy is notified of the concern and given seven days to respond. An exception is made if the infraction is suspected to be an ongoing issue and the surveillance of the deputy is required.
The deputy and a representative of the Fraternal Order of Police union are given seven days to meet with Reid. A confidentiality agreement is signed, stipulating no aspect of the investigation can be discussed with anyone.
Reid tries to accommodate a dep-uty’s schedule. There is no need to grab someone at 8 a.m. after they finished a 12-hour shift an hour before, she said.
Florida law states Reid has 180 days to wrap up the following investigation, but the sheriff’s office narrows her allotted time to 30 days. She can file for an extension if needed.
There are five outcomes possible at the conclusion of an investigation. “Sustained” means the allegations are true, “unfounded” if the allegations prove false.
If Reid can’t find any evidence to support the allegations on either side, the outcome is “not sustained.”
If a deputy did break a policy, but it was a requirement in the line of duty, Reid finds the deputy “exonerated.” This is common in excessive use of force investigations if the suspect was violently resisting arrest.
Finally, there are gray areas in the policy book that don’t cover a deputy’s behavior. The deputy may have acted inappropriately, but he didn’t violate any policy.
Policies may be changed or created after such a finding.
The sheriff determines the penalties, which range from punitive action, such as a two day suspension without pay or a demotion, to a verbal or written reprimand.
The completed report is compiled into a full report, which can be volumes long at times. It includes digital records of all the interviews, which are conducted under oath, along with transcripts.
Not sustained or unfounded investigation files are destroyed after one year. If a deputy receives punitive action, the completed file is kept for five years. Investigations ending with a verbal or written reprimand are kept for three years.
Regardless of the outcome, a synopsis is permanently kept in the deputy’s personnel file.
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