question for LEO 's
Can anyone tell me what happens to a LEO when they are accused of stealing from motorist that they have stop for a traffic violation, ie taking anywhere from $40 to a couple of hundred , in this case I am talking about a county LEO that has about 10 years on the job and a spotless record .
What should a Sheriff do when some thing like this is brought to him ?
Does he call the officer in and just talk to him ? is it kept within the department? Is he brought up on charges ? ect ? arrested ?
What if there is more than 1 person that accused the same officer in a short period of time ?
Any help from LEO's would be appreciated
What should a Sheriff do when some thing like this is brought to him ?
Does he call the officer in and just talk to him ? is it kept within the department? Is he brought up on charges ? ect ? arrested ?
What if there is more than 1 person that accused the same officer in a short period of time ?
Any help from LEO's would be appreciated
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The person accusing the officer must file a complaint with the agency. This will initiate an investigation into the matter.
People from the personnel division will conduct the investigation and interview everyone involved. Every agency I know of wants to keep a clean house and will not try to protect someone who has done something like stealing. They will fire him or prosecute him, or both, if necessary.
Just as if you were accused of this, the ofcr is still innocent until proven guilty.
In Calif there is a peace officers bill of rights that kicks in when an ofcr is accused of anything violating department policy that may result in discipline or termination.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Laredo Lefty
The person accusing the officer must file a complaint with the agency. This will initiate an investigation into the matter.
Yep. Simple as that. The chips fall where they may.0 -
This will initiate an investigation into the matter.
will the accused be made aware of this investigation or will they be kept in the dark ?0 -
gskyhawk...... I assume you mean the "accuser".... The accused would be the officer.
The accuser would be told if their complaint "is" or "is not" substantiated. The level of discipline, if any, given to the ofcr generally would not be disclosed.0 -
no I did mean would the officer know that he was being investigated 0 -
Anytime anyone has made a complaint against me, I have known the nature of the complaint and the identity of the complainant. The law requires that I be given that information as early as practicable in the investigation. Then, I have 72 hours to respond in writing to the complaint. How could I respond if I don't know the nature of the complaint?
That would be an internal investigation, an investigation of an alleged violation of department policy. If the allegation is of a criminal act, there will be two concurrent investigations, one internal and one criminal.
If criminal charges are filed, that fact and any action taken by the court is public record. In the internal investigation, the complainant may be told if your complaint is substantiated, unfounded, or unsubstantiated, but he won't be told what action is taken, if any. That is a confidential personnel matter.
BTDT, got the T-shirt. Many times.0 -
gskyhawk..... Absolutely yes. The ofcr would be told that a complaint has been filed and an investigation started just as nunn said.
I recall one case where a female motorist, who was not happy about getting a ticket, came to the station and accused the officer of trying to "pick her up" and making vulgar, obscene comments to her during the traffic stop.
She made a formal complaint, in writing, and signed it. Little did she know the officer was wearing a tape recorder and taped the entire contact, and no, the dept is not required to tell her of the recorder before she signs the complaint.
As it turned out, SHE WAS A LIAR, and was successfully sued by the officer.0 -
I wore a tape recorder for that very reason. I put paint over the red LED showing the tape recorder was working. You can tell when someone is going to complain, and the shift supervisor gets the tape and my written report at the end of shift.
Then the person comes in and makes a complaint. Is advised about making a false report, signs the complaint and then the detective has my recording and arrests the person making a false report to the police.
Nice little package. Worked every time. Even on shift supervisors that became aware of the little recorder a little to late.0 -
A lot of people seem to think that you need to ask them or have them sign something to record them in public. You only need a consesnt when there is an expectation of privacy. 0 -
thanks everyone , this may help me , help my freind that is in a bad spot right now because of this happening to him . i don't know all the details of whats going on in his case but i think he's getting railroaded and i want to try and help him if i can 0 -
gskyhawk,
What state are you in?
If you are weary of going to the officer's agency try going through your State Attorney Generals office.
A Sheriff is an elected official, and usually wouldn't risk his position by losing votes to protect just one deputy. It would be normal for a department to open an internal investigation upon receiving a complaint such as yours. The department may or may not suspend an accused officer at first. If they choice they can conduct an internal whereby they do a sting operation on the officer to see if he takes the bait. If he does, then most likely he will be fired, and prosecuted. To suspend before gathering proof would cause the officer to start building a defense, and possibly get the Unions involved. The officer who takes such bribes is a criminal, and most Law Enforcement agencies will not stand for this type of conduct.
Trinity +++0
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