Office of Independent Review Quarterly Report Fourth ......FOURTH QUARTER 2014 October 1, 2014 –...

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Office of Independent

Review

Quarterly Report Fourth Quarter 2014

Richard Rasmussen Police Auditor

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Purpose of the Office of Independent Review The Office of Independent Review (OIR) is responsible for ensuring that complaints about the conduct of the Fresno Police Department (FPD) are thoroughly investigated to enhance community trust. The OIR monitors ongoing investigations conducted by the FPD Internal Affairs (IA) unit and, when completed performs a comprehensive audit of the process. Each audit report will focus on evaluating the adequacy, thoroughness, quality and accuracy of the investigative report. The OIR assists in strengthening the relationship between the community and the police department by promoting greater transparency and collaboration. The OIR is independent from the FPD allowing it to work as a conduit in the community. The OIR also meets regularly with members from local groups to listen to the public’s interest and perspective. The OIR is scheduled to release four quarterly reports per year to increase transparency, public awareness and understanding.

Purpose of the Report The objective of the OIR, in preparing this report is that the constituents of the City of Fresno see transparency by all parties involved in the review of complaints. The following report is intended to show a detailed summary of all complaints submitted to the FPD during the fourth quarter of 2014. The OIR does not conduct its own investigation but is given full access, monitors and contributes to the existing IA investigation. Once IA has completed its investigation the file is submitted to the OIR for audit.

The fourth quarter report reflects all complaints made to the IA Unit of the FPD, along with the recommendations made by the OIR between the dates of 10/01/2014 – 12/31/14. The report is reflective of complaints that are handled within the ICF system, as well as those more serious allegations which are immediately assigned within the IA Pro system. Some complaints begin as ICFs and once that investigation is concluded, mutate to become full IA investigations. As the charts within this report reflect, some cases are still pending with the IA Unit and will be audited upon completion of IA’s own examination of those cases. Also, within this report are separate charts that list reports that have been listed as pending in previous OIR quarterly reports. These charts will detail if the cases have since been audited or continue in a pending status.

Additionally, recommendations are always communicated to the FPD within the audit, regarding the case specific incident that generated the recommendation. Other, broader recommendations and/or “trends” are also communicated to the FPD as they are identified weeks prior to the OIR Quarterly Report being published this is an effort to ensure that the FPD is aware of issues and is able to react, address or consider each item, and is done so in the most time effective manner possible. The FPD has been extremely responsive to these notifications and has offered clarifying information or language, prior to the reports being published.

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Year over Year Comparison

This report is the last quarterly report for calendar year 2014 and in preparing this report, OIR compared data in three critical areas: Number of Complaints, Use of Force Complaints and lastly, Officer Involved Shootings (OIS). As depicted in the chart, the numbers are significantly reduced in all three areas. What this comparison shows is that the overall number of serious complaints is down 16% from the prior year. This statistic is an important data point as it shows a reduction in complaints coming primarily from the citizens of Fresno and to a lesser degree from within the FPD. Complaints are generated from both sources but decreasing complaints from citizens demonstrates fewer concerns were raised by citizens. Equally telling is the fact that the FPD rigorously looks into issues they become aware without a citizen making a complaint and so the percentage of complaints raised internally is climbing, in relation to the overall number of complaints. Uses of Force complaints have decreased even more significantly, 29%, and these complaints almost exclusively are initiated by residents. This significant drop indicates that the officers are able to deescalate encounters that previously resulted in some sort of physical interaction. Lastly, the most important statistical drop is 27% in the category of OIS. There are multiple possible explanations for this drop but it is a decrease that is greatly appreciated by everyone, including the citizenry and officers of Fresno. OIR is hopeful that these indicators of how the FPD is performing will continue to decrease in this next year. The emphasis placed upon training is notable and most likely is the central factor to these huge leaps forward.

Year Total Cases Use of Force OIS

2013 140 41 11

2014 118 29 8

% Reduction 16% 29% 27%

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Trends/Issues Identified and Relayed to the Police Department When a homeless person is cited for a minor infraction or misdemeanor they are given a Notice to Appear in court. However, it is believed by some in the community that a common practice of the Police Department is to enter the address of the Fresno Rescue Mission, 310 G Street, as opposed to the actual address of the person being cited, an address at which that person actually receives mail. This creates a problem because any information will be mailed to the Rescue Mission and there apparently is no process for changing the address on these citations. A citizen reportedly asked an officer at the Police Department how that G Street address got on the citation, and he said that "We routinely use that address for anyone who appears to be homeless." This seems like a practice that could lead to an undue number of cases of failure to appear among the homeless population. Officers should attempt to determine if anyone they cite has a valid address where they receive mail. OIR cannot stress directly enough that all officers collect and record the demographic data of the people they stop during traffic enforcement duties. OIR recommends that the Department remind all officers of this policy as there has been more than one case in the last 12 months wherein demographic data was crucial to determine the actions of an accused officer. Richard Rasmussen Independent Reviewer The Fresno Police Department has issued a response regarding the citation addresses as discussed above; the memo is incorporated into this report on the following pages.

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Quarterly Report Data Fourth Quarter 2014

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OFFICE OF INDEPENDENT REVIEW

CITY OF FRESNO QUARTERLY REPORT

FOURTH QUARTER 2014 October 1, 2014 – December 31, 2014

Report Issued January 26, 2015

Glossary

Unfounded The reported incident did not occur.

Exonerated The employee’s actions were reasonable under the circumstances.

Not Sustained There is insufficient evidence to support a conclusion as to whether or not the employee violated policy.

Sustained The employee’s action(s) are in violation of the policy or procedure of the Police department.

AU The case has been audited by the Office of Independent Review

AD The Office of Independent Review has declined to review the case due to the subject; for example an interdepartmental complaint or a case where the OIR cannot add value to the investigation.

Pending The case is still in the process of being investigated

“S” “S” defines the Subject Officer, when there are multiple officers, the letter “S” is followed by a number (S, S1, S2).

Blue Category Firearm Discharge

Yellow Category Use of Force

Green Category Vehicle Accident

The following case was pending in the previous 2013, 3rd quarter report. The pending incident is in the process of formal IA investigation.

Once the investigation is completed it will be sent to the OIR for review.

IA PRO CASE NUMBER

DATE ASSIGNED

USE OF FORCE YES/NO

FPD FINDING

OIR DISPOSITION

STATUS SUMMARY

13-0110 09/24/2013 Yes Within Policy

AU Within Policy

Officer Involved Shooting

The following case was pending in the previous 2013, 4th quarter report. The pending incident is in the process of formal IA investigation.

Once the investigation is completed it will be sent to the OIR for review.

IA PRO CASE NUMBER

DATE ASSIGNED

USE OF FORCE YES/NO

FPD FINDING

OIR DISPOSITION

STATUS SUMMARY

13-0133 12/03/2013 Yes Within Policy

AU Within Policy

Officer Involved Shooting

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The following cases were pending in the previous 2014, 1st quarter report. The pending incidents are in the process of formal IA investigations.

Once the investigations are completed they will be sent to the OIR for review.

IA PRO CASE NUMBER

DATE ASSIGNED

USE OF FORCE YES/NO

FPD FINDING

OIR DISPOSITION

STATUS SUMMARY

14-0016 02/25/2014 Yes Open Case Pending Pending Officer Involved Shooting

14-0017 03/10/2014 Yes Open Case Pending Pending Officer Involved Shooting

The following cases were pending in the previous 2014, 2nd quarter. The pending incidents are in the process of formal IA investigations.

Once the investigations are completed they will be sent to the OIR for review.

IA PRO CASE NUMBER

DATE ASSIGNED

USE OF FORCE YES/NO

FPD FINDING

OIR DISPOSITION

STATUS SUMMARY

14-0052 05/21/2014 Yes Pending Pending Pending Officer Involved Shooting


The following cases were pending in the previous 2014, 3rd quarter.

The pending incidents are in the process of formal IA investigations. Once the investigations are completed they will be sent to the OIR for review.

IA PRO CASE NUMBER

DATE ASSIGNED

USE OF FORCE YES/NO

FPD FINDING

OIR DISPOSITION

STATUS SUMMARY

14-0068 07/11/2014 Yes (S, S1) Exonerated

AD AD (S, S1) Use of Force


14-0073 08/11/2014 No Unfounded AU Unfounded Abuse of Authority

14-0074 08/19/2014 No Sustained AU Sustained Failure to Obey All Laws

14-0075 08/20/2014 Yes (S, S1) Unfounded, Sustained

AU (S, S1) Exonerated, Sustained

(S,S1) Use of Force, Report Preparation

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The following cases were pending in the previous 2014, 3rd quarter.

The pending incidents are in the process of formal IA investigations. Once the investigations are completed they will be sent to the OIR for review.

IA PRO CASE NUMBER

DATE ASSIGNED

USE OF FORCE YES/NO

FPD FINDING

OIR DISPOSITION

STATUS SUMMARY

14-0076 08/20/2014 No Pending Pending Pending Unwelcome Solicitation

14-0080 09/08/2014 No Unfounded AD AD Criminal Acts/Failure to Obey All Laws

14-0082 09/09/2014 No Resolved ICF

AD AD Criminal Acts/Failure to Obey All Laws


14-0085 09/18/2014 Yes (S, S1, S2, S3) Unfounded, (S, S3) Unfounded, Sustained, (S1) Exonerated

AU (S, S1, S2, S3) Unfounded, (S, S3) No Finding, Sustained, (S1) Exonerated

(S, S1, S2, S3) Professionalism/Discourteous Treatment, (S, S3) Report Preparation, (S1) Use of Force

14-0086 09/18/2014 Yes Exonerated AU Exonerated Use of Force



14-0091 09/30/2014 No Unfounded, Sustained

AU Not Sustained, Sustained

Racial/Bias Profiling, Demographic Collection-Procedure

14-0092 09/30/2014 No Sustained AD AD Policy 341.4 Discretion

This area left blank intentionally

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The following cases did have or are in the process of formal IA investigations.

Each of these cases occurred during the 2014, 4th quarter. Once the investigation is completed it is sent to the OIR for review.

IA PRO CASE NUMBER

DATE ASSIGNED

USE OF FORCE YES/NO

FPD FINDING

OIR DISPOSITION

STATUS SUMMARY

14-0093 10/02/2014 No Sustained AD AD Department Property – Care/Usage/Lost/Damaged

14-0094 10/09/2014 Yes (S, S1) Exonerated

AD AD (S, S1) Use of Force

14-0095 10/13/2014 No (S) Not Sustained, (S1) Unfounded

AU (S1) Unfounded

(S, S1) Criminal Acts/Failure to Obey All Laws


14-0097 10/20/2014 Yes (S,S1) Exonerated

AU (S, S1) Exonerated

(S,S1) Use of Force

14-0098 10/22/2014 No Exonerated, Sustained

AD AD Performance, False Misleading Statements to Supervisor

14-0099 10/22/2014 Yes Pending Pending Pending Use of Force


14-0101 10/30/2014 Yes Unfounded AU Unfounded Unreasonable Use of Force

14-0102 11/12/2014 Yes (S) Exonerated, (S, S1) Unfounded (S2) Unfounded

AU (S) Not Sustained, (S, S1) Unfounded (S2) Unfounded

(S) Use of Force, (S, S1) Arrest Authority (S2) Abuse of Authority

14-0103 11/12/2014 No Unfounded AD AD Discretion

14-0104 11/12/2014 No Unfounded AU Unfounded Racial/Biased Based Profiling

14-0105 11/12/2014 No Sustained AD AD Investigation Handling

14-0106 11/12/2014 No Pending AD AD Professionalism/Discourteous Treatment

14-0107 11/17/2014 No Not Sustained

AD AD Discretion - Policy

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The following cases did have or are in the process of formal IA investigations.

Each of these cases occurred during the 2014, 4th quarter. Once the investigation is completed it is sent to the OIR for review.

IA PRO CASE NUMBER

DATE ASSIGNED

USE OF FORCE YES/NO

FPD FINDING

OIR DISPOSITION

STATUS SUMMARY

14-0108 11/17/2014 No (S, S1) Not Sustained, (S1) Sustained

AD AD (S, S1) Performance, (S1) Discretion -Policy

14-0109 11/18/2014 No Resolved ICF

AD AD Prisoner’s Property

14-0110 11/18/2014 No Pending AD AD Report Preparation

14-0111 11/18/2014 No Sustained, Sustained

AD AD Report Preparation, Performance

14-0112 11/25/14 No Pending AD AD Performance

14-0113 12/03/14 No Pending AD AD Tow/Impound Issues

14-0114 12/04/14 No Pending AD AD Department Property-Care/Usage/Lost/Damaged

14-0115 12/10/14 No Pending AD AD Social Media Issues

14-0116 12/11/2014 No Pending AD AD Abuse of Authority

14-0117 12/16/2014 No Pending AD AD Leave Without Pay, OTTO/POSS Entries

14-0118 12/17/2014 No Pending AD AD Criminal Acts/Failure to Obey All Laws

14-0119 12/19/2014 No Pending Pending Pending Insubordination, Criminal Acts/Failure to Obey All Laws

14-0120 12/24/2014 No Pending AD AD Report Preparation- False/Misleading

14-0121 12/30/2014 No Pending Pending Pending Property/ Evidence Handling

14-0122 12/30/2014 No Pending Pending Pending Discretion

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AUDIT REPORTS PERFORMED IN THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 2014

C13-110 Allegation: Officer Involved Shooting Audit Finding: Within Policy

FPD Finding: Within Policy C13-133

Allegation: Officer Involved Shooting Audit Finding: Within Policy

FPD Finding: Within Policy C14-073

Allegation: Abuse of Authority Audit Finding: Unfounded

FPD Finding: Unfounded C14-074

Allegation: Criminal Acts/Failure to Obey All Laws Audit Finding: Sustained

FPD Finding: Sustained C14-075

Allegation: (S, S1) Use of Force, Report Preparation Audit Finding: (S, S1) Exonerated, Sustained

FPD Finding: (S, S1) Unfounded, Sustained C14-085

Allegation: (S, S1, S2, S3) Professionalism/Discourteous Treatment, (S, S3) Report Preparation, (S1) Use of Force

Audit Finding: (S, S1, S2, S3) Unfounded, (S, S3) No Finding, Sustained,

(S1) Exonerated FPD Finding: (S, S1, S2, S3) Unfounded, (S, S3) Unfounded, Sustained,

(S1) Exonerated

C14-086 Allegation: Use of Force Audit Finding: Exonerated

FPD Finding: Exonerated

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AUDIT REPORTS PERFORMED IN THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 2014 C14-090

Allegation: Use of Force Audit Finding: Exonerated

FPD Finding: Exonerated C14-091

Allegation: Racial/Bias Profiling, Demographic Collection-Procedure Audit Finding: Not Sustained, Sustained

FPD Finding: Unfounded, Sustained C14-095

Allegation: (S, S1) Criminal Acts/Failure to Obey All Laws Audit Finding: (S1) Unfounded

FPD Finding: (S) Not Sustained, (S1) Unfounded C14-097

Allegation: Use of Force Audit Finding: (S, S1) Exonerated

FPD Finding: (S, S1) Exonerated C14-100





Allegation: (S) Use of Force, (S, S1) Arrest Authority (S2) Abuse of Authority

Audit Finding: (S) Not Sustained, (S, S1) Unfounded (S2) Unfounded FPD Finding: (S) Exonerated, (S, S1) Unfounded (S2) Unfounded

C14-104

Allegation: Racial/Bias Based Profiling Audit Finding: Unfounded

FPD Finding: Unfounded

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FRESNO POLICE DEPARTMENT INTERNAL AFFAIRS BUREAU

2014 4TH QUARTER

INCIDENT TYPE - INQUIRY/COMPLAINTS

The following reports were reviewed, however it was determined they did not warrant a full IA investigation.

ICF ICF # COMPLETED FINDINGS ALLEGATIONS

ICF 14-0309 10/6/2014 RESOLVED DISCOURTEOUS TREATMENT

ICF 14-0310 10/6/2014 RESOLVED REPORT PREPARATION



ICF 14-0313 10/6/2014 RESOLVED GENERAL CALL HANDLING

ICF 14-0314 10/13/2014 RESOLVED SEARCH/SEIZURE ISSUES

ICF 14-0315 10/13/2014 UNRESOLVED

GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES

DISCOURTEOUS TREATMENT


ICF 14-0317 10/17/2014 RESOLVED ARREST AUTHORITY/PROCEDURES

ICF 14-0318 10/17/2014 RESOLVED GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES




ICF 14-0322 10/17/2014 RESOLVED INVESTIGATION HANDLING

ICF 14-0323 10/17/2014 UNRESOLVED INVESTIGATION HANDLING

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ICF 14-0332 10/22/2014 UNRESOLVED GENERAL CALL HANDLING



ICF 14-0335 11/13/2014 RESOLVED PROPERTY LOST/DAMAGED NOT DEPT OWNED

ICF 14-0336 11/13/2014 UNRESOLVED PROPERTY/EVIDENCE HANDLING

ICF 14-0337 11/13/2014 RESOLVED


GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES

ICF 14-0338 11/13/2014 UNRESOLVED GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES

ICF 14-0339 11/13/2014 RESOLVED RACIAL/BIAS BASED PROFILING







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ICF 14-0348 11/13/2014 RESOLVED INTEGRITY


ICF 14-0350 11/17/2014 UNRESOLVED LANGUAGE BARRIER


ICF 14-0352 11/17/2014 UNRESOLVED REPORT PREPARATION


ICF 14-0354 11/17/2014 UNRESOLVED SEARCH/SEIZURE ISSUES


ICF 14-0356 11/17/2014 RESOLVED


REPORT PREPARATION






ICF 14-0362 11/19/2014 RESOLVED


TOW/IMPOUND ISSUES



ICF 14-0365 11/19/2014 RESOLVED INTEGRITY


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ICF 14-0373 12/2/2014 UNRESOLVED PROPERTY/EVIDENCE HANDLING









ICF 14-0382 12/9/2014 UNRESOLVED DISCOURTEOUS TREATMENT


ICF 14-0384 12/9/2014 RESOLVED PROPERTY/EVIDENCE HANDLING




ICF 14-0388 12/10/2014 UNRESOLVED UNREASONABLE FORCE


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ICF 14-0392 12/24/2014 UNRESOLVED TOW/IMPOUND ISSUES






ICF 14-0398 12/31/2014 RESOLVED


SEARCH/SEIZURE ISSUES






ICF 14-0404 12/31/2014 RESOLVED INVESTIGATION HANDLING





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2014 QUARTERLY REPORT FOR AUDITOR

TYPE OF INCIDENT 1/1/14 TO

3/31/14

4/1/14 TO

6/30/14

7/1/14 TO

9/30/14

101/1/14 TO 12/31/14

TOTALS

ACCIDENTAL DISCHARGE 2 0 0 0 2

OIS - ANIMAL 1 3 1 0 5

OIS - PERSON 2 2 3 1 8

VEHICLE ACCIDENTS (INVOLVING DEPT

VEHICLES) 13 13 14 11 51

VEHICLE PURSUITS 22 16 18 19 75

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