False Arrest Lawyer: Complaints and Misconduct Investigations, Police Brutality

False Arrest & Police Brutality: If you're the victim of false arrest or brutality by the police or a security guard, please fill out this simple form and get your free case review today.

The police are there to protect us and keep us safe. That is why police have policies on issues such as "Use of Force" that protect against police brutality and false arrest / false imprisonment. When those policies are violated or civilians (such as security guards and shop owners) act as police, the result may be false arrest or false imprisonment. If you have been falsly arrested, fill out this simple form for a FREE false arrest case evaluation.

General Policy

Law enforcement agencies have a continuing obligation to serve the community. One aspect of this obligation is to ensure that agency procedures and actions are reasonable and effective. To fulfill this obligation, agencies should provide a readily accessible process in which community and agency members can have confidence that complaints against agency actions and procedures will be given prompt and fair attention. Such investigations will not only provide for corrective action when appropriate, but also will protect against unwarranted criticism when actions and procedures are proper. A fair and thorough investigation further serves to protect the community, the agency, and its personnel from complaints that are based on misunderstandings or invalid information.

Accepting Misconduct Complaints

Civilians should be provided a full and fair opportunity to file complaints alleging officer misconduct.Civilians should be allowed to file complaints in-person, by mail, by telephone, by facsimile transmission, or, where possible, by e-mail. A complaint form should be offered, but completion of the form should not be required to initiate a complaint. Individuals should be able to obtain and file complaint forms at places other than law enforcement agencies.

Officers and other employees should be prohibited from refusing to accept complaints, or attempting to dissuade a civilian from filing a complaint. Civilians should not be required to meet with or speak with a supervisory officer as a requirement for filing a complaint.

Complaints should be accepted from all individuals, including those who request anonymity. Complaints should be accepted from third parties to ensure that witnesses of abuse or misconduct can file complaints as well as victims of such misconduct.

Reports of Misconduct

Law enforcement officers should be required to report misconduct by other officers that they witness or of which they become aware. The failure to report misconduct should be subject to appropriate discipline. Agencies may want to consider installing a confidential hotline for reporting misconduct and ethical violations.

Agencies should have in place appropriate protection against retaliation for officers who report misconduct.

Law enforcement officers should be required to report to their agency any instance in which they are: arrested or criminally charged for any conduct; named as a party in a civil suit regarding on-duty conduct; or named as a party in a civil suit regarding off-duty conduct where it the allegations are related to the officer's ability to perform law enforcement duties (e.g., improper force, fraud, or discrimination).

Law enforcement agencies should seek to be notified whenever a court or a prosecutor concludes that an officer engaged in misconduct in the course of criminal investigations or proceedings (e.g., engaged in false testimony or dishonest conduct, or improperly charged an individual with resisting arrest, assault on an officer, or disorderly conduct in an attempt to justify inappropriate use of force).

Misconduct Investigations

Misconduct investigations of serious misconduct allegations, including allegations of excessive force, false arrest, improper search or seizure, or discriminatory law enforcement, should be conducted by an entity that has special responsibility for conducting misconduct investigations. That entity should also conduct the investigation when the alleged misconduct occurred while a supervisor was present or occurred during the implementation of a law enforcement action that a supervisor was involved in planning. Complaints of less serious allegations also should be investigated, and not dismissed as trivial or unimportant.

Misconduct investigations should be thorough and impartial, and conducted in a reasonable, timely and consistent manner. They also should be conducted with appropriate consideration for the due process rights of the officer, in light of applicable statutes, regulations and collective bargaining agreements. Law enforcement agencies may wish to develop written guidelines for misconduct investigations.

Resolution of Misconduct Investigations

In evaluating the evidence and making credibility determinations, the decision maker should consider all relevant factors. There should not be any automatic judgment that a credibility determination cannot be made where the only or principal information about an incident is the conflicting statements of an officer and a civilian. Similarly, there should be no automatic preference for an officer's statement over a civilian's statement, or vice versa.

Consistent with the applicable statutes, rules and labor agreements, law enforcement agencies should appropriately discipline any officer who is the subject of a substantiated misconduct allegation regarding excessive force, false arrest, improper search or seizure, discriminatory law enforcement, or discriminatory behavior in the workplace, or who fails to report misconduct by another officer. The agency also should appropriately discipline any officer: found guilty or who enters a guilty plea in a criminal case regarding on-duty conduct; or who is found in a criminal proceeding to have intentionally committed misconduct.

In deciding the appropriate discipline for each officer who is the subject of a substantiated misconduct allegation, the agency should consider the nature and scope of the misconduct, and the involved officer's history of misconduct investigations and discipline.

Regardless of whether a misconduct allegation is substantiated and regardless of whether discipline is ordered, the agency should additionally consider whether to require training, counseling, or other remedial non-disciplinary measure for officers who are the subject of a misconduct investigations. Where the substantiated misconduct involves excessive force, false arrest, improper search or seizure, discriminatory policing, or discriminatory behavior in the workplace, discipline typically should be accompanied by appropriate remedial non-disciplinary measures.

After a misconduct complaint is resolved, the law enforcement agency should, consistent with applicable rules and statutes, inform the complainant, in writing, of the disposition and results of the investigation, the reasons for the disposition, and what discipline was imposed,if any.

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see also:

Deadly Force False Arrest Lawyer: Police Policy on Use of Deadly Force
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Non-Deadly Force False Arrest Lawyer: Police Policy, Use of Non-Deadly Force, Brutality
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Use of Force False Arrest Lawyer: Police Policy on Use of Force
We protect against incorrect of use of force by your police department