New Police Policies for 2016: Part 1 (Officer-Involved Deaths)
Municipalities throughout Illinois are taking
action to promote the integrity of their police departments, as directed by a
package of new laws adopted
by the General Assembly last summer. Many of these new laws become effective
on January 1, 2016. In this 5 part series, we take a look at how local police
departments can be prepared with new policies governing officer-involved
deaths, officer-worn body cameras, FOIA, use of force, and more.
Part 1 of 5 in the Series - Officer-Involved Deaths
Local police departments usually have an informal policy about who they call, or would call, in the
event of a police-related death in their community. Calling in the
Illinois State Police Task Force or one of the collective community or county
task forces to investigate officer-involved shootings, jail hangings, and such
other incidents can be important to the involved community taking a step back from
the investigation to avoid any taint of self-investigation. However, based on new legislation effective January 1, 2016, local investigations and agreements to participate in these type of task forces must
meet new requirements from Springfield.
Effective January 1, 2016, the Police
and Community Relations Improvement Act requires law enforcement agencies
to “have a written policy regarding the investigation of officer-involved
deaths that involve a law enforcement officer employed by that law enforcement
agency.” These investigations must be conducted by at least two investigators,
with one lead investigator certified by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training
Standards Board as a “Lead Homicide Investigator,” or have certain similar
training. No investigator involved in the investigation may be employed by the local
law enforcement agency that employs the officer involved in the
officer-involved death.
If the officer-involved death being investigated
involves a motor vehicle accident, at least one investigator must certified by
the Board as a “Crash Reconstruction Specialist,” or have certain similar
training, and in this case the law enforcement agency may use of an
investigator who is employed by that law enforcement agency.
The investigators are required to expeditiously
provide a complete report to the State's Attorney of the county in which the officer-involved
death occurred. If the State's Attorney, or a designated special prosecutor,
determines there is no basis to prosecute the law enforcement officer involved
in the officer-involved death, or if the law enforcement officer is not
otherwise charged or indicted, the investigators must publicly release a
report.
Law enforcement agencies are still permitted to
conduct internal investigations into officer-involved deaths, if the internal
investigation does not interfere with the independent investigation required
under the Act. Additionally, compensation for participation in an independent
investigation the independent investigation can be determined by an intergovernmental
or inter-agency agreement.
Post Authored by Daniel J. Bolin and Ellen K. Emery, Ancel Glink
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