0825.10 Member Involved Domestic Violence

Administrative Rules Adopted by Bureaus Pursuant to Rule Making Authority (ARB)
Policy number
PPB-0825.10
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825.10 MEMBER INVOLVED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Refer:

  • Title 18 § 922 Crimes and Criminal Procedure; Unlawful Acts
  • Title 18 § 925(a) (1) Crimes and Criminal Procedure; Exceptions: Relief From Disabilities
  • ORS 107.705 Other Family and Household Relationships Defined
  • ORS 133.055(2a) Mandatory Arrest for Domestic Violence
  • ORS 135.230(3) Domestic Violence Relationships Applied to Conditional Release Restrictions
  • ORS 135.260(2) Prohibit Contact of Victim on Conditional Release or Domestic Violence
  • DIR 341.00 Discipline Process
  • DIR 343.00 Criminal Investigation of Police Bureau Employees
  • DIR 825.00 Domestic Violence; Arrests, Restraining Orders

POLICY (825.10)

The Bureau considers domestic violence to be a very serious issue and will treat all reports of member involved domestic violence with a full and complete investigative process.

Domestic violence crimes have serious and long lasting detrimental effects. Members are not immune from becoming involved in domestic violence situations as either a perpetrator or victim. Members who have concerns about their behavior or display behaviors that raise concern are encouraged to seek assistance. Some available sources of assistance are a friend, supervisor, the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), or private mental health care provider.

Behaviors that may raise concern include, but are not limited to, frequent tardiness and absences, an increase in controlling behaviors, stalking and inappropriate surveillance activity, complaints from co-worker, unwarranted aggression and verbal abuse, increased use of physical force and/or injury.

Any Bureau member who reasonably suspects that an act of domestic violence has been committed by a Bureau member is required to report the incident through one of the following channels:

a. Reporting member’s shift supervisor.

b. Reporting member’s RU manager.

c. Branch chief.

d. Personnel Division manager.

e. Family Services Division (FSD) manager.

Members are authorized to make notifications outside their chain of command or to any of the above listed managers. Any manager who receives notification of a criminal complaint against a member will ensure the FSD manager is immediately notified. A disclosure on the part of any officer, intimate partner, or family member, to any Bureau member will be treated as an admission or report of a crime and shall be investigated both criminally and internally.

PROCEDURE (825.10)

Directive Specific Definitions

Domestic violence: Abusive behavior that is physical, sexual, and/or psychological, intended to establish control over a family or household member and is prohibited by law.

Household and family members: Spouses, former spouses, adult persons related by blood, marriage or adoption, persons cohabitating, or who have cohabitated, persons who have been sexually intimate with each other within two (2) years (including same sex relationships), and persons who are unmarried parents of a child.

Restraining orders: Any court order restricting or prohibiting a person’s contact with another person or persons, and/or restricting where and when a person may be at a location. Such an order may also result in restricting possession of firearms and ammunition. This includes, but is not limited to, Restraining Orders, No Contact Orders, Protective Orders, and Anti-Harassment Orders. This court mandated restrictions are designed to aid in the safety of the petitioner (person who files for the restraining order). In Oregon, the order is subject to appeal within thirty (30) days of being served. Once an appeal is requested the court must hear the appeal within twenty one (21) days, or within five (5) days of contesting a custody provision (not parenting time).

Reported Domestic Violence (825.10)

a. Member as victim situations:

1. When the crime occurs within the Domestic Violence Reduction Unit’s (DVRU) jurisdiction, the DVRU will be responsible for the follow-up investigation.

2. Responding Bureau officers shall notify their supervisor when they are at a scene where a member has been victimized by domestic violence. The supervisor shall contact the FSD manager who shall assign a response team to come to the scene to assist in the initial investigation. After regular office hours the FSD manager will be contacted through BOEC.

3. When the crime occurs outside DVRU’s area of jurisdiction, the responding agency may contact DVRU for assistance.

4. When the FSD learns of an outside jurisdiction report of domestic violence, it will offer assistance to the investigating agency and serve as the liaison with that agency for the term of the investigation as appropriate.

5. Since domestic violence perpetrators are likely to know when and where the victim works, they commonly continue the harassing and victimizing behavior while the victim is at their place of work. When appropriate, RU managers may offer to adjust such things as works hours, workstations, and telephone contact numbers of domestic violence victims to prevent further victimization. When appropriate, this information shall be forwarded to the Personnel Division (Personnel).

b. Member as suspect situations:

1. When the crime occurs within the DVRU’s jurisdiction, the Investigations Branch chief will have the responsibility to assign the investigation of the reported domestic violence. This investigation will be complete, to include an interview with the suspected member.

2. Bureau officers arriving at a scene where a member has been accused/suspected of domestic violence or served with a restraining order shall notify the member’s supervisor as well as their own supervisor. The responding officer’s supervisor will respond to the scene and direct the initial investigation until the arrival of a DVRU supervisor. The patrol supervisor will contact the FSD manager who will assign an investigator to come to the scene. After regular office hours, the FSD manager will be contacted through BOEC. If BOEC is aware that the call involves a Bureau member, the call will be coded a priority 2 and a supervisor will be dispatched in addition to responding officers. Responding officers will request a supervisor of a higher rank than the involved officer regardless of the involved officer’s jurisdiction, if possible.

a) If probable cause exists for a crime related to domestic violence, an arrest will be made at the scene, including harassment.

b) If probably cause exists and the offender has left the scene, the on-scene supervisor will exhaust every reasonable means to locate the alleged offender.

c) If the victim has left the scene, the on-scene supervisor will preserve any evidence at the scene and make every reasonable effort to follow through on the investigation, including proper notifications.

d) In the event of an on-scene arrest, the FSD manager or his designee will seize all Bureau property including firearms.

e) In the event of an on-scene arrest, the on-scene supervisor will inquire whether the victim wants any additional firearms removed for safekeeping.

f) The FSD manager or his/her designee will offer the victim access to a domestic violence advocate.

g) The FSD manager will appoint a person to act as the victim’s point of contact within the Bureau. That contact, preferably a member of the command staff, will help keep the victim apprised of the investigative process and will ensure the Bureau’s compliance with this directive as well as relevant FSD/SOPs.

3. If officers determine that the suspect is an officer from an outside agency, they will notify their supervisor, who will respond and direct the investigation. The supervisor will contact the suspect officer’s agency and arrange for a contact. DVRU will respond at the request of the on-scene supervisor and conduct the investigation. The services of a domestic violence advocate will be offered to the victim and will be arranged through DVRU.

4. Sworn members arrested for a domestic violence crime or served with a restraining order will not be allowed to return to work until he/ she has been cleared by a psychological threat assessment.

5. If a Bureau member is arrested as a result of involvement in a domestic violence incident, the member shall notify his/her immediate supervisor at the earliest possible time. The supervisor shall notify the RU manager and FSD manager. If the action is taken by an outside agency, the FSD supervisor shall contact the investigating agency to offer assistance and serve as a liaison to the investigating agency. If the investigating agency does not have access to victim services (i.e., DV advocate), a FSD representative will volunteer the use of a FSD domestic violence victim advocate.

6. The Investigations Branch chief shall be contacted as soon as possible by FSD regarding member involved domestic violence cases, and kept appraised as to the criminal proceedings.

Duty Status (825.10)

a. Ongoing criminal investigation: Members who are subject to a criminal investigation will have their duty status administered by Personnel, for the period of investigation and psychological threat assessment, in accordance with Bureau policies, member rights, and contractual requirements.

b. IAD investigation: Members who are subject to an IAD investigation will have their duty status administered by their RU manager and/or Personnel, for the period of investigation, in accordance with Bureau policies, member rights, and contractual requirements.

Restraining Orders (825.10)

Members who are subject to a restraining order shall notify their immediate supervisor at the earliest possible time.

Federal law prohibits any respondent (person who has had a restraining order served on them) from possessing firearms and ammunition (actual or constructive possession) if the restraining order bans such possession or he/she is found to represent a credible threat to the petitioner. There is a military and law enforcement exemption for sworn members, on-duty status only. However, a restraining order that bans the respondent’s possession of firearms and ammunition may still be subject to enforcement under state law, unless the respondent has received relief for that portion of the restraining order in state court.

Sworn members who have state liability of a restraining order restricting firearms and ammunition possession, and all non-sworn members subject to such a restraining order, shall not be allowed to work or be in areas where actual or constructive possession of firearms and/or ammunition is possible. If the officer/respondent is appealing a restraining order with firearm and ammunition prohibition, the officer may be placed on administrative leave or in a position where there is no contact with the public through the duration of the appeal.

Members, who are subject to restraining orders that have firearm and ammunition restrictions, shall ensure all firearms and ammunition are removed from their residence, Bureau locker, and any other location he/she would have actual or constructive possession of such items. This must be done immediately. If the restraining order is appealed, and as a result of that appeal, the firearm and ammunition restrictions of the restraining order are eliminated, or the restraining order is vacated, the member may have returned to his/her possession any and all firearms and ammunition that were removed.

If a sworn member qualifies for the federal exemption and does not have state liability of a restraining order banning firearms and ammunition possession, FSD will create a report covering the circumstances of the restraining order and forward the report, through channels, to the Performance Review Board (PRB) (See DIR 341.00 for membership of the PRB.). The PRB will make a recommendation to the Chief of Police regarding what accommodation, if any; the Bureau should make for the firearm restriction. If directed by the Chief of Police, the employee’s shift commander or designee will issue the officer’s duty firearm(s) and ammunition to him/her at the beginning of each work shift, and collect the firearm(s) and ammunition at the end of each shift. The firearm(s) and ammunition will be stored in a manner that does not allow actual or constructive possession by the officer when he/she is off duty. The Bureau will not facilitate or allow a sworn member to work under the federal exemption until he/she has been cleared by a psychological threat assessment. Since restraining orders are twelve (12) months in duration, and may be extended, duty status could include termination.

Members who have been arrested or convicted of a domestic violence crime shall notify their immediate supervisor at the earliest possible time.

An annual check of every member’s law enforcement record, including, but not limited to CCH, shall be done by the FSD to check for domestic violence arrests, convictions and restraining orders. Any domestic violence arrest, conviction or restraining order found as a result of such a check will be forwarded to the appropriate RU manager, Personnel, and IAD.

Federal law prohibits persons convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor from actually or constructively possessing firearms and ammunition. There is no exemption to this law. A member convicted of a domestic violence crime, whether or not it meets federal standards, shall be subject to discipline up to and including termination.

RESPONSIBILITY, ACCOUNTABILITY AND CONTROL (825.10)

The FSD manager or designee will review officer reports and calls for service, and will conduct yearly law enforcement record checks for all Bureau members, making appropriate notifications as outlined in this directive.

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