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UNITED ST ATES DISTRI T OURTNORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
EASTERN DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, CASE NO.:
Plaintiff, JUDGE:
v
CITY OF CLEVELAND,
Defendant.
SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT
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T LE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCT ION ...... ............. .. .................................................................................... I
II. BACKGROUND . ........... ..... ........ ................................................. ............. .................. I
lll. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND BUILDING TRUST ........................................... 4
A Co1nmunity Po lice Con1miss ion ................................. ........................... ... .................... 4
B District Po licing Comm ittees ........ .... ... .... ......................... ............................................ 7
JV COMMUNITY AND PROBL EM-OR IENTED POLICING ............. .................. ............. . 8
Y BIAS-FREE POLICING....................... ..................................................................... ..... I 0
V I USE OF FORCE ............... ................................................................................................ 12
A Use of Force Princ ip les ..... ... ..................... ............ ..................................... ......... ........ 12
B Use o f Force Po licies ................ ............ ....... ........ . .... .. .... .......... ......... . . .. 14
I Firear s ......... ......................................................... . ..... ........ . ....... .................... 15
2 Electro nic Co ntro l Weapons ............................. ............ ...... ....... ..... ... .. . 16
3 O leoresin Capsicum Spray ( OC Spray ) ................................................. ........... l 8
C Use of Force Tra ining ........................................................ . ........ ............................. 19
D. Use of Force Repo rting Po licy and Use o f Force Reports ......................................... . 20
E Use o f Force Investigat ions ...... .......................................................................... ........ 22
l Investigat ions o f Leve l 1 Uses of Force . ........ ... .... . ................................ . ..... .. 22
2 Inves tigat ions of Leve l 2 Uses of Force ..... ..... .... ............... .......................... ..... ... 23
3 Fo r ce Invest igat ion Team and Investigatio ns of Leve l 3 Uses of For ce .... .......... . 27
F Force Review Board ............. .... ........... ..... ................................ ........ ........... 31
v R ISIS INTERVENT JON ...................................................... ...... ... .......... .................... 34
A Menta l Hea lth Respon se Advisory Committee .......................................................... 34
B. Cris is Interventi on Coo rdinator ................. ...... .......... ........... .... ............. ...... ...... .... ..... 35
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C Crisis Interve ntion Train ing .................. ................. ................................ ..... .......... ..... . 35
D Spec ia lized Cris is Intervent ion Tra ined Officers .... ........... ...... . ....... ...... ......... .... . 36
E Crisis Interventi on Po lic ies and Procedures .................... .... ............. .......... ... 38
VIII. SEA RCH ES AND SEIZURES ........... . ............ .................................. ..................... . 9
IX ACCOUNTAB ILITY ................................................. . ......... . ...... ..... ................ . ....... . 43
A. Intern ally Discovered Mi sconduct ... ........ ..... ... . ................................................ 4
B Repo rtin g Misconduct and Prevent ing Ret aliation ......... ..... ..................................... 46
C. Inves tigation of Civil ian Compl aints ...................................... ................. ........... 47
1 The Office of Profes sional Standards ..... .... . ....................................................... 4 7
2 Filing and T racking of Civilian Compla ints ...... .... .... . .......... . 49
3 Classification of Civi lian Complaints ..................... .............................................. 5 1
4 Investi gation of Civilian Comp laints ....... ....... ....... ................. .... ................ ...... 52
5 Co mmu nicat ion with t he Comp lainan t ..... ................... ................. .... ................. . 54
D. Po lice Rev iew Board .................... . . .............. . ................. ...... ..... ......... ...... ...... 54
E . Disc ip linary Hea rings ............................ ............................... ............... ..................... 56
F. Disc ip line .......... . . ............... ..... ............... ..... .... . ........ . . ................ ...... 57
X TRANSPAR ENC Y AND OVERS IGHT ......................... ..... .................. , ......... .......... 58
A. Polic e Insp ector Genera l .................. ............ ........ . ...... ........................ .............. . 58
B. Data Col lection and Ana lysis ........... ........... . .... ............ .......................... ............... 59
XL OFF ICE R ASSISTANCE AND SUP PORT ............ . ................................................. . 63
A. Tra inin g ......................... . . .................................................. .............. ...... . 63
I . l r n i ng Plan ..... .................................................... .......................................... . 63
2 Fie ld Training Program ............................................... .......................................... 66
3 Documentation of fr aining ................ ..................................................... . ......... 67
B. Equ ipment and Resources .............. . ......... . ........ ................ ....... .... .................... 6 7
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C. Recruitment and Hi ring ................. ............................................................................. 70
0 Perfo rmance Evaluations and Promotions ........................................... ....................... 71
I. Performance Eva luations ...................................................................... ................ 72
2. Promotions ....................................... ........................... .......... ..... ................ ........... 73
E. Staffi ng ....................................................................................................................... 73
Xll . SUPERVIS ION ................................................................................................................. 74
A. Duties and Train ing of F irst Line Supervisors ........................................................... 74
B. Officer Intervention Pr ogra m ................................... .................................. ................ 75
C. Body Worn Came ras ........ .. ......... ................ .......... ........ ....... .... ........ .... ...... ..... ..... ....... 78
XIJI. POLICIES .................. .......................... ........ ..................... ..... .... .................................. ..... 78
X IV. IMPLEME TATTON ASSESSMENT OUTCOMES AND ENFORCEMENT ..... ..... 80
A Role of the Indepe ndent Monitor .......................................................... ............. ... ...... 80
B. Select ion and Compe nsation of the Mo nitor .............................................................. 8 1
C. Complian ce Reviews .......... .... ...................... ................ ........... ...... .............. ............... 82
D. Bienn ial Commun ity Survey ............. .......... .... .............. ...... .. ............................ .......... 83
E. Outcome Measu rements .......................... ................................................................... 84
F. Monitoring P lan and Review Methodology .............................. ....... ........................... 88
G. Monitor Recommendations and Techn ica l Assistance .... .... ....................................... 89
H. Con1prehensive Reassessment ... ............................... ....................... .............. ....... ...... 90
l Monitor Report s ......... .................................. ..... ......... .... .......... ....... .......... ....... ........... 90
J . Coordin ation with the Police Inspecto r Genera l ........................................................ 9 1
K. Com munic ation between Mo nitor Parties and PubI c .............................................. 9 1
L. Public Statements Testimony Records and Conflicts of Interest.. ........................... 92
M. CDP Consent Decree Impleme ntat ion Unit ................................................................ 93
N. Implementation Assessmen t and Report............. ........................................................ 93
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0 Access and Confiden tiality ........ ............. .................................................................... 94
P. Court Juri sdiction Modification of this Agreeme nt and Enfo rcement. ...... ......... ...... 95
Q Terminati on of this Agreement ........................................ ........... ........ .... ...... ....... .... .. . 96
XV. DEF T TJONS AND ABBREVIATI ONS .......... .... .................................. ........ ............... 97
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I INTRODUCTION
The United States of America and the C ity of C leve land (co llec tive ly Part ies'') a re
committed to ensur ing that pol ice serv ices in Cleve land are delivered in a manner that is
const ituti o nal , effect ive, and cons istent with community values, while preserving office r and
public safe ty. To furth er these goa ls, the Cleveland Division of Poli ce ( CD P ) and the
Cleve land com munit y must have a s trong relati onship th at is built on mutu al trust and respec t.
The prov isio ns of thi s Agreement are designed t o bolster this relation ship and ensure that it
endur es. The Cons titu t ion require s the City to prevent excess ive force , to ensu re that sea rches
and seiz ures arc reaso nab le, and to ensure that p o lice se rvices a re de li vered free fro m bias.
These precepts a lso are fund amental to a s tron g co mmunit y-police r elati onship . To furth er these
goa ls, the C ity has agreed to provid e clear guidanc e to of ficers; incr ease acco untabilit y; prov ideo r civilian parti cipati on in and ove rsight of the police; provide officers with n eede d support ,
trai ning, and equipm ent ; and increase transparency. The Parti es acknowledge that nothin g in thi s
Agreement a lters the fact that the C ity of Cleve land is a gove rnmen ta l entit y o rgan ized und er the
laws of Ohio and gove rned in accordance w ith its Muni cipal Charter (''C harter ). This
Ag ree men t does not a lter the C leve land Cha rte r p rov is ions rega rding co ntro l and superv is ion orthe po lice force. The Mayor o f Cleve land and Dire ctor of Publi c Safety retain thei r aut hor ity
ove r CDP and the C hief of CDP retain s authority to ove rsee the o pera tions of CD P.
For these reaso ns, and notin g the genera l princip le that settlem ents are to be encour aged ,
particul arly se ttl ements betwee n gove rnment entiti es, the P art ies agree to implement thi s
Agreement under the following term s and conditi ons.
II BACKGROUND
1. On March 14, 20 13, a t the reque st of the Ma yo r of Cleve land and others, the United
States Departm ent of Justice ( DOJ ) announced the beg innin g o l'it s invest igat ion into
CDP's po licies a nd prac tices to determin e whe ther CDP engages in a p ttern o r pract iceof the use of excessive force in vio la tion of th e Fom1h Amendment of the U nited Sta tes
Constituti on and the Vi olent Cri me Co ntro l and Law Enfor cement Act of 1994 , 42
U.S.C . 14141 ( Se ction1414 1 .
2. As part o f its inve stiga tion, DO.I, in con sulta tion w ith expc11s in police practices ,
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condu cted a comprehensive assess ment of offic ers use of fo rce a nd CDP s po licies,
procedur es, trainin g, systems of acc ountabilit y, and community en gagement. The
inves tigation includ ed multi- day o nsite tours of CDP s faciliti es, D istrict command
stat ions, and ride-alongs with o fficers in eve ry po lice Di strict; inte rv iews wi th
Cleve land o fficials, CDP s comm and staff , members of C D P s spec ialized unit s,
super visors, and poli ce o ffice rs; an extensive review o f doc uments; and numerous
meetings with res idents, co mmunit y g roup s, member s of re ligious communit ies, the
Office of Profe ss ion al Standard s, the C iv ilian P o lice Rev iew Boa rd , and other
stakeh o lders.
3. The C ity and CDP coopera ted durin g the investigati on and pro vided access to
o u m e n ~s faciliti es , and personn el. Many members of C leveland s diverse
communit ies, including co mmun ity advocates , religious leaders, and membe rs ofCDP s patro l o fficer and management unions, too k an ac ti ve interest in the
in vestigation and playe d a c riti cal role in prov id ing info rmation and faci litating a
thoro ugh investigation.
4. On De cemb er 4, 2014, the Department of Justice pub licly announced that it h ad
reaso nabl e ca use to beli eve that CDP en gages in a pattern or pr actice of using ex cess ive
force. DOJ announced th at it had reasonable cause to believe that, althou gh mo st force
used b y C DP offic ers was reaso nable, a signifi cant amount of dead ly a nd less lethal
force was excess ive and constitu ted an ongo ing risk to the publi c and to C DP o fficers.
DO I also determined that sys temic deficiencies co ntribut e to the patt ern or practice of
exces sive force. Th ese deficiencie s relate to ope rational and struc tur al areas of CD P,
includin g its account ability systems, reso urce depl oyment, communit y policing e ff orts,
policies, a nd officer supp ort, trainin g, equipm ent, and supervision. Alth ough DOJ did
not specificall y inves tigate C DP s search , seizure, and a 1'est pract ices, DOJ s fo rce
rev iew revea led Fourth Am endment concerns in those a reas as w e ll.
5. The C ity agre es that DOJ"s findin gs raise issues of importance to the C ity a nd the
communit y that should be addr essed. To that end , and simult aneo us w ith the release o f
DOJ s findin gs, the Parties issued a Joint Statem ent of Prin c iples agree ing to begin
nego tiati ons with the int enti on of reachin g a co urt -enforcea ble sett lement agreement, to
include the appointm ent of an outside indepe ndent monitor to ensure compliance with
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the terms of this Agreeme nt. In a gree ing to address t hese im portant i ss ues the City is
not agreeing with the findin gs.
6. Constitut ional policing a nd effective po licin g are interdependent and re ly on a stron g
partn ership between the police department and the communit ies that it se rves. To
ensure that the reform s embodied in this Agree ment are respo nsive to commu nity and
office r co ncern s the Partie s consu lted ex tcns.ive ly with co mmunity leaders po lice
o ffice rs advocate s res ident s and other concerned individua ls who offered mea nin gf ul
recomme ndation s and ins ights on refo rm . T his Agreement rc llec ts the broad input
recei ved by the Parties fr om the d ive rse com mun ities that make up the C ity of
C leve land. The Parti es a re co mmitt ed to o ngo ing engagement w ith community
stake holde rs to foste r co ntinued part icipation a nd long-te rm sustainabi lity of the
refo rms c reated by thi s Agreement.7. T his Agreeme nt was reac hed as a result of the a uth ority granted to the Departmen t of
Justice und er Section to seek declarato ry or equ itab le relief to rem edy a pa ttern
or prac tice of co nduct by law e nforcement officers that depriv es individua ls of rights
privile ges or immuniti es sec ured by the Co nstit ution or fede ral law.
8. Thi s Agreement is not intended to limit the law f ul auth orit y of the Mayo r of C leve land
ove r the CDP or the lawfu l autho ri ty of the C hief of Police to ove rsee the opera tions of
CDP .
9. Th e Part ies acknow ledge the appropri ation authori ty of C leve land City Counci l under
the Ohio Re vised Code and the C leveland Charter and Co dified O rdin ances. T his
Agreemen t is not intended to ove rrid e the lawfu l authority of the C leveland C ity
Co uncil to appropri ate funds.
10. This Agreeme nt is not intended to I imit the lawfu l au thor ity of CDP office rs to use
obj ec tively reaso nabl e force o r otherw ise ful fill t heir law e nforce ment obli gat ions
und er the Constituti on and laws of the United State s and the Sta te of Ohio.
11. Th is Agreement will not be co nstrued as an adm iss ion or ev ide nce of liab ility und er
any fe deral Sta te or mun icipa l law includin g 4 2 U.S.C . § 1983. Nor is the Ci ty s
entry into this Agreement an ad mi ss ion by the C ity CDP or its officers and employee s
that they have engage d in any unco nstituti onal illega l or othe rwise improper activities
or conduc t. The Partie s ac know led ge the many CDP officers who have continued to
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work diligently and with integrity despite challen ging c ircumstances.
12. This Agreement will const itute the enti re integ rated agreement o the Parties. No prior
drafts or prior or co ntempo raneo us commun ications, ora l or written, will be releva nt or
admissible for purposes o determining the meaning o any provisions herein in any
liti gat ion or any other proceeding, exce pt the Department o Justice ' s December 4 ,
20 14 Findings Letter.
3 Thi s Agreement is binding upon all Parties hereto, by and throu gh their officials,
agents, e mployees, a nd successors. If the City estab lishes o r reorganizes a gove rnment
agency or entit y whose function include s oversee ing, regulating, accrediting ,
investigating , or othe rwise reviewing the operat ions o CDP or any aspect thereof, the
C ity agrees to ens ure that these funct ions and entitie s a re consistent w ith the terms o
thi s Agreement and wi incorporate the terms o thi s Agreement into the ove rsight,regulator y accreditation , invest igation, o r review functions o the government age ncy
or entit y as necessa ry to ensure con sistency.
Ill COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ND BUILDING TRUST
14. This Agreement recog nizes the impo1t nce o community input into the way police
serv ices a re de live red. Ongo ing co mmunit y input into the deve lop ment o reforms, the
estab lishment o police priorit ies, and mechani sms to pro mote comm unit y confidence
in CDP w ill strengthen CDP and the po lice-co mmunit y relat ions hip tha t is necessary to
promote public safety. To promote public trust and confidence in CDP, constitut ional
and effect ive po licing office r and public safety, an d the sustainabi lity o reforms , CD P
will create, in accorda nce wit h this Agreement, forma l and informal mechani sms that
fac ilit ate ongo ing co mmuni cation between CDP and the many Cleve land commun ities
it se rves.
A ommunity Police Commission
15. To leverage the experience and expertise o the people o Cleve land, and to ens ure that
CDP recognize s and operates in a manner cons isten t with cooperative co mmunit y
und ersta ndin g and engage ment, the C ity wi ll establish, with in 90 days o the Effective
Date , a Community Po lice Commiss ion (''Commiss ion ) co nsisting o 3 membe rs
who repre sent the many and diverse comm uniti es in Cleve land. The Com mission w ill
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have the fo llowi ng mandate:
a. to make r eco mmendat ions to the C hi f of Po lice a nd the C ity, includ ing the
Mayor a nd the C ity Counc il, on pol icie s and practices related to com munit y
and problem-o riented po licing, bias-free policin g, and po lice transparency;
b. to wo rk with the many commu nities that make up Clevel and for the purp ose
of develop ing recommenda tions for polic e practi ces that r eflec t an
under standin g of th e va lues and prioritie s o f C lev eland residents; and
c. to report to the City a nd co mmuni ty as a w hole and to prov ide tran sparency o n
police depar tment refo rm s.
6 To e nsure diverse represe ntation, within 30 days of the Effective Date, the C ity wi ll
esta blish a selec tion panel made up of represe ntatives from eac h or the fo llowing:
(a) fa ith based organiza tions; ( b) c iv il rights advocates; (c) the busi ness/ph ilanthropiccomm uni ty; (d) o rgan izat ions represen ting com munitie s of co lor; (e) a dvocacy
orga ni1 at ions; (f) you th or student orga nizatio ns; (g) academ ia; and (h ind ividuals with
expertise in the challenges faci ng people w ith mental illness o r the homeless. The
member s o f this panel w ill be selected by the Mayor in cons ul ta ti on with DOJ. and with
participat ion by members of Cleve land City Council as determ ined by the Co uncil
Pres ident. Within 30 days of their appo intm ent, the se lect ion pane l will accept
applicat ions for memb ership o n the Commiss ion from indi viduals who res ide o r wo rk
in the City o f Cleve land. Within 30 days thereafter , in an ope n public forum, t he
se lection panel wi ll recommend I 0 persons to be appointed as members o f the
Co mmiss ion for a term o f no more than 4 yea rs, ensurin g at least I represe ntative from
eac h of the categories iden tified above . The person s recommended by the select ion
panel sha ll be appointed as prov ided in the Charter. Curr ent memb ers of the se lec tion
pa nel canno t app ly to become members of the Cor;nmiss ion. In add ition, the C leve land
Patr o lmen s Assoc iation, the Fraterna l Order of Po lice, and the Black Shield will each
iden tify one member to be ap poi nted as prov ided in the Charter to serve on the
Commi ss ion. Vacanc ies w ithin the o riginal fo ur year te rm w ill be filled in the sa me
fashion as the or iginal appo intme nts. At the end of four years , a selection panel w ill be
reco nst ituted and members of the Co mmiss ion wi II be selected as descr ibed above.
One member of the Co mm ission w ill be se lected by the Comm ission to atten d meetings
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of, and receive relevant information and repor ts from the Commun ity Relation s Board
of the City of Cleveland, and one member of the Community Relations Boa rd w ill be
select ed by the Com mun ity Re lations Board to attend meetin gs of, and receive relevant
information and reports from t he Commission. T he Commiss ion will meet periodically
with the Ch ief of Po lice and provide recommendation s and reports to hi m or her, but
rema in independent from , the C hief of Police, the Mayor, and the City Co uncil.
17. The Com mi ssion w ill:
a . within 90 days of appo intm ent, hold pub lic meetin gs across t he City, complete
an assessmen t of CD P s bias-free policing policie s, pract ices, and tra inin g
and make recommendation s;
b. on an ongoing basis, includ ing through its membership on the Training
Review Co mmittee , ass ist as ap propriate in CDP s development of trainingrelated to bias-free po licing and cultu ral competency;
c. on an ongo ing basis, assess CDP's comm unit y activit ies, and make
recommendat ions for additi ona l strategies for CDP to co nsider to increase
commu nity engagemen t w ith and communit y con fidence in CDP;
d. on an ongo ing basis, rev iew CD P s civil ian ove rsight str ucture to determ ine i f
there are cha nges it recommend s for impr ov ing CDP's acco untabil ity and
tran spa rency ; and
e. perform other function as set o ut in this Agreement.
18 In addition to the above, the Co mmissio n has the authori ty to:
a. rev iew and comment on CDP's po licies and practic es related to use of force,
search and se izure , and data co llection and retention ;
b. rev iew and comm ent on CD P s imp lemen tat ion of initi at ives, programs , and
activities that are intended to s uppor t reform ; and
c. hold public meeting s to d iscuss the Monitor s report s and to receive
communi ty feedback conce rnin g CDP's compliance with th is Agreem ent.19 The City will provide access to a ll info rmatio n requ ested by the Commission related to
its ma ndate, authority , and duties un less it is law en forcement se ns itive lega lly
restricted , or would disc lose a personn el ac tion.
20. At least a nnual ly the Co mmiss ion wi ll issue repo 11s, includin g any recommendations
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for improvement, relate d to eac h activ ity that it und ertakes . The City w ill post t he
Commission s report s and reco mmend atio ns to the City 's websi te.
2 1. The C ity w ill consider and timely respond in writi ng to t he Co mmis sion' s
recommendat ions for improvements. Those responses also will be posted to the City's
website.
22. The budget for the Co mmissio n will be vis ib le as a separate line item in the budget
proposa l that is s ubmitt ed annually pursuan t to the Charter to the C leve land City
Council with the appropri at ions ordinance. The Parties wi ll endeavo r to secure private
fund ing for the Commiss ion as app ropriate . The Mo ni tor will analy ze the
Comm issio n s budget and adv ise the Parties and the Co urt as to whether it affords
sufficient indepe ndence a nd resources to meet the terms of this /\gree ment.
B District Policing C ommittees
23 . Working jointly , the Commiss ion , CDP , and Co mmun ity Re lations Board ( CRB ),
will wo rk with the D.istrict Po licing Co mmitt ees (fo rmerly called District Com munit y
Relati ons Co mmitt ees) to fac il itate regular com munication and cooperat ion betwee n
CD P and commun ity leaders a t the local leve l. These Disn·ict Polic ing Committees
should m eet, a t a minimum , every quar ter.
24. Working joint ly the Comm iss ion, CDP. and CRB wi ll deve lop a mechan ism to recruit
and ex pand the member ship o f the District Policing Co mmittees , eac h of wh ich sho uldinclude a representative cross-sect ion of communit y members , including, for examp le,
rep rese ntatives o f soc ial services providers , fa ith leaders, local business ow ners , you th,
etc. from tha t Distri ct. Eac h District Po licing Committe e a lso Ni ll include at leas t one
CDP of fi cer fro m that Distr ict. CD P wi ll wor k with the Commiss ion to select office rs
for each Distri ct Po licing Committ ee.
25. CD P will work closely with the District Policing Committe es to identi fy strategie s to
address cr ime and safoty issues in the ir Distr ict. In deve lop ing appropria te s trateg ies,
the Dist rict Policing Comm ittees s hou ld consider and addr ess law enfo rceme nt
prioritie s and communi ty polic ing s trateg ies in their District, and shou ld address any
concerns or recom mendations a bout spec ific CDP pol icing tactic s and initi atives in
the ir District.
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26. At least ann ua lly eac h District Po licing Co mmitt ee will present its identifi ed strat eg ies,
concern s a nd reco mmendati ons to the Com mi ss ion. At the sa me time, an officer who is
a member of the District Policing Committee w ill present to the Co mmission CDP s
assessme nt of ways to add ress, and barri ers to, implement ing the strate gies, co nce rns
and recommenda tions of the Co mmitt ee.
IV COMMUN ITY AND PROBLEM ORIENTED POLICING
27. CDP w ill develop and imp leme nt a comprehen sive and integra ted communit y a nd
problem-oriented polic ing model in order to promote and strengthen partnerships
within the commun ity engage constructively w ith the commu nity to ensure
co llabo ra tive problem- so lving, a nd i ncrease com mun ity confide nce in CDP . C DP wi ll
consult with the Co mmi ss ion regardi ng this model as appropriate .28. CDP wi ll ensure that its miss ion statem ent reflects its commi tment to commun ity
oriented policing and w ill integrate comm unit y and problem-ori ented policin g
principles into its management, po licies and procedure s, rec ru itme nt, tra ining
personne l evalu ations, res ource dep loyme nt, tactic s and accou ntabilit y sys tems .
29. C DP w ill ensure that officer s are fa miliar with the geogra phic areas they serve,
includin g their asse ts, cha llenges, prob lems, busine ss, res idential and demographic
profiles, a nd comm unit y groups and leaders; e ngage i n prob lem ide ntifi cat ion and
so lving acti v ities with the commu nity groups and member s regarding the com munit y s
prioritie s; and work p r o ~ l y wi th other ci ty and co unty departm ents to address
qua lity of life issues.
30. CD P wi ll provide initia l and annual in-service community and problem- orient ed
po licing train ing that is adequate in qua lity, quantit y type and sco pe, and wi ll
inco rporate into its trainin g of a ll o fficers, inc luding supervisors, com mande rs and
exec utives, com munity and prob lem-oriente d policin g principle s, inc ludi ng:
a. methods and strategies to impro ve publ ic safety a nd cr ime prevent ion thr oughcom munit y engage ment ;
b. training that promote s the deve lopment of new prob lem-so lving partners hips
between t he poli ce and communit y targeting probl em-so lving and crime
preven tion ;
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c. leadership ethics and e ec tive communi cation and interpersonal skills;
d. co mmw1ity engage ment inclu d ing how to establi sh partn erships and actively
engage c ivilians and commun ity organizatio ns includin g yo uth LG BT
homeless and mental hea lth orga nizat ions and co mmunities;
e. prin ci ples o f proced ural ju stice and its goa ls;
f. conflict reso lution and verbal de-esca lation of confli ct; and
g. cultur al competency and sensitivicy trainin g.
3 1. The C ity and CDP w ill mai nta in co llaborative partnersh ips with a broad spectrum o
comm un ity gro ups. C DP representatives w ill mee t as approp riate w ith residential
business re ligious civic educa tional and other communit y-base d gro ups in eac h
District and with the D istrict P o licing Co mmitt ees to proac tive ly maintain these
relationships and ident ify and address communit y prob lems and c hallenges.32. C DP w ill continu e to meet with m em bers of the co mmu11ity in eac h District on a
monthl y bas is . CDP w ill act ive ly so licit parti cipation from a broa d cross-sectio n o
communit y members in each Distri ct . Among other thin gs these co mmunit y meetings
w ill be used to identify probl ems and other areas o concern in the communit y and
disc uss responses and soluti ons. Durin g these meeti ngs C DP may discuss when
app ropriate summ aries of re levan t aud its and repo s assess ing CDP as we ll as any
po licy c hanges co mpleted during the prece din g quarter.
33. Within 365 days o f the Effective Dat e CDP will develop and impl ement sys tems to
monitor o fficer outreac h to the co mmunit y. CDP will use t his method to analyze
among other thin gs whether office rs are partnering with a broad cross-sec tion of
communit y members to deve lop and implement coo pera tive stra tegies that b uild mutl tal
respec t and identify and so lve problems. The Monitor will rev iew whether the syste ms
developed by the C ity are effective .
34. At leas t annually CDP will prese nt the results o this analys is broken out by District
in a publicl y-ava ilable co mm unity po lic ing repo rt deta ilin g its communit y po licing
efforts in eac h District. This report w ill desc ribe the problems and soluti ons ide ntified
in the a na lysis above. The report also w ill identi fy obstacles encountered in com munity
and problem-oriented po lic ing a nd reco mm endations for futur e impr ove ment. In
deve loping this report C DP will conside r as appropriate ava ilable resul ts from the
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biennia l survey. The community po licin g repor t will be pro vided to the Comm issio n,
posted on CD P s website, and a summ ary of the repo11 will be provided at eac h District
com munit y meeting fo llowi ng the repo rt s publication.
V. BIAS FREE POLICING
35. C DP will de live r police se rvices with the goa l of ensuring that they a re equit ab le
respectfu l, and free of unlawfu l bias, in a man ner that promo tes bro ad community
engage ment and confidence in CDP. CD P expects a ll officers to treat a ll mem bers o f
the C leveland com munit y with cou rtesy, professionalism, and respec t, and not to use
harassi ng intimidating, or derogatory language.
36. C DP will integrate bias-fr ee po licing prin ciples into its management po licies and
procedu res, job descriptions, recruitm ent, trainin g, personnel eva luations , resourcedeploy ment, tact ics, and o ~ n t l t y syste ms.
37. CD P will admini ster all activities without discrim ination on the bas is of race, ethnicity,
national origin, religion, gender, d isab ility age , sex ual orientation, or gender identity.
38. Within 18 months of the E ffective Date, C DP will deve lop a b ias- free policing policy
that incorporates, as appropriate, the recommendations deve lope d by the Co mmissio n
pur suant to paragrap h 17, and that prov ides clear guidance t o office rs that biased
po licing, including decidin g to detain a motor ist or pedestrian based so lely o n racial
stereoty pes is prohi bited .
39. Within 18 month s of the Effec tive Date, wi th input from the Com miss ion, CDP will
develop training that incorporates the prin cip les of proced ural j ustice and that is
designed to ens ure that police services are delivered free from bias. The Monitor will
rev iew the trainin g to assess w hether it is adequate in quality, quantity , scope, a nd type.
40 . The trainin g wi ll be provid ed to a ll o fficers and wi ll includ e:
a. constituti onal and other lega l requirement s related to eq ual protect ion and
unla wf ul discr imin ation, includin g the requirements of this Agreement;b. stra tegies, s uch as problem-oriented po licing procedura l just ice, and
recogni zing impli cit bias , to avoid co ndu ct that may lead to biased po licing or
the perception of biased policing ;
c. historical and cultur al syste ms that perpetuate racial and ethn ic profiling ;
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d. identifi ca tion o f racial or ethni c profilin g practices, a nd police prac tices that
have a disparate imp act on certain demographic catego ries;
e. self-eva luation strateg ies to ident ify racial or ethni c profilin g;
f Distri ct-leve l cultur al competency tra inin g regar din g the histories and culture
of loca l immigrant and ethni c communiti es;
g. po lice and communi ty perspec tives related to bias-free po licing;
h. the pr otec tion of civil rights as a central p a rt of the po lice mission and as
esse nti al to eff ective policing;
1. instruction in the da ta co llectio n pro tocols requir ed b y this Agree ment ; and
J. methods strategics, and techniques to reduce mi sunderstanding co nflict, and
complaints due to pe rce ived bias or discrim ination .
4 1. Supervisor trainin g w ill includ e:a. how to ident ify biase d po lice pract ices w hen rev iewing inves tigator y sto p,
arrest, and use of force data;
b. how to respond to a compl aint of biased police prac tices, includin g conducting
a prelimin ary investigation of the complaint in ord er to preserve key ev idence
and potential wi tnesses;
c. how to eva luate complaints of improp er pedes trian stops for pote nti al biase d
po lice practices; a nd
d. engag ing the c ommun ity a nd deve loping pos itive relationships with diverse
communit y groups.
42. O fficers a lso will rece ive a nnual in-se rvice trainin g on bias-free po lic ing that is
adequa te in qu ality, quantity, type, a nd sco pe.
43. To help ensure t hat po lice services are delivered in a mann er free from bias, CDP will
analyze data pur suant to pa ragr aph 265 .
44 . Within 1 8 months of the Effec tive Date, the appo inting a utho rity w ill cons ider
princ iples of bias-free po lic ing and equal protec tion in its hirin g; unit ass ign ment, as
appli cable; promotion; and p erform ance assess ment p rocesses, i ncludin g giv ing
consideration to an indi vidual s record of bias-related vio lations, as we lI as using
interv iews o r other method s to assess the ind ividu al s abi lity to e ffective ly practice
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VI USE O FORCE
45. DOJ acknow ledges tha t CDP recently has made impo 11ant changes to some o its fo rce
po licies. B uildin g on these improvement s, CD P wil l revise, deve lop, and impl eme nt
force policies , tra inin g, superv ision, and accou ntability syste ms with the goal o
ens urin g that force is used in acco rdance w ith the Constitution and laws o the United
States and the requir ements of this Agreement and t hat any use o unre aso nab le force is
pro mptl y identified a nd respo nded to appro priate ly. The force policies, trai ning
supervis ion, and acco un tab i i ty sys tems wi be designed with the goa l o ensurin g that
office rs use techniques other than fo rce to effect comp liance with police orders
whenever feasible: use force on ly whe n necessa ry, and in a manner that avo ids
unnece ssa ry injury to officers a nd civ ilians; d e ~ e s ct e the use o force at the ear lies t
poss ible moment ; and accurately and comp lete ly report all uses o force.
A. Use o f Force Principles
46. The C ity w ill impl ement the terms o hi s Agreeme nt with the goa l of ensu ring that u se
o force by CDP o fficers, regardle ss o the type o force, tac tics, or weapo n used, wi
comply with the fo llow ing requirement s:
a. officers wi ll allow individua ls the oppo rtunity to submit to arres t before force
is used w hereve r poss ible;
b. officers will use de-e scalation techniques wheneve r poss ible and appro priate,
before resor ting to force and to reduce the need fo r fo rce. De-e scala tion
techniqu es may inc lude ve rbal persuasion and warnings a nd tactica l de
esca lation tec hniqu es, such as slow ing down the pace o r an incident, waiting
out s ubjects creating dista nce and thus the reac tionary gap) between the
officer and the threa t, a nd requesting additi ona l resou rces e.g. specia lized
CIT officers or negot iato rs). Office rs will be trained to consider the
poss ibility that a s ubject may be nonco mp liant due to a medical or mentalcond ition, physical or hear ing impairment , language b arrier , drug intera ction ,
or emotiona l crisis;
c. i force become s necessa ry, office rs will be lim ited to using only the amount
or force objec tive ly reasonable as necessary to contro l the person.
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d. in appl ying force office rs will reduce the leve l of force as the threa t
dim inishes;
c. office rs normally w ill no t use force aga inst persons who a re handc uffed or
otherwise restra ined unless it is objective ly reaso nable a nd necessa ry under
the c ircum stances lo sto p an assa ul t, esca pe o r as necessa ry to fulfill other
law enfo rcement objec tives;
f. office rs w il l not use force aga inst perso ns w ho on ly verbally confro nt them
and do not imp ede a leg itim ate law e n forcement function:
g CDP will ex plic itly prohibit the use of reta lia tory fo rce by o ffice rs .
Retaliatory force i ncludes for exa mp le force in excess of what is objectively
reaso nable to preve nt an escape to pun ish indi viduals fo r l ee ing or o therwise
res isting a rrest; and fo rce used to punish an ind iv idua l for disrespec tingofficers;
h. offi ce rs will not use head strikes with hard obj ec ts excep t where lethal fo rce
is ju stified. O fficers w ill be trained that a strik e to the head with any impact
wea pon could result in dea th ;
1. other than to protect an o ffice r s or other person s safety o fficers w ill not use
force to subdu e an individual who is no t suspected of any crim inal condu ct;
J. CDP s po licy w ill express ly prov ide tha t us ing a rearm as an impac t weapo n
is neve r an authorized tact ic. Office rs will be trained that use of a irea rm as
an imp act wea pon co uld result in dea th to suspects bystan ders a nd
themselves;
k. officers w ill n ot use neck holds;
I CDP will continue to lim it vehicle p ursuits to those in which the need to
cap ture the suspec t outwe ighs the d anger to the pub lic. CDP will continu e to
limi t the numb er of CDP vehicles that may be invo lved in a ve hicle p ursuit;
and
m. imm ed iate ly fo llow ing a use or force o ffice rs and upon arrival a superviso r
w ill inspect and obse rve subjec ts fo r inju ry o r comp la in ts of pa in res ul ting
from the use of force, and imm ediately obta in any necessa ry medica l care. As
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necessary , officers will provide emergency first aid unti I professional medical
care providers are on sce ne.
47. As soon as practical following a use of force, CDP wi ll ensure that the incident is
accurate ly and prope rly reported, documented , and inves tigated. A fundamental goa l of
the revised use of fo rce po licy wi ll be to account for review, and investigate every
reportable use of force and reduce any improper uses of force.
48. CDP wi ll track and analyze officers uses of force to hold o fficers acco unta ble for
unreasonable uses of force ; to guide trainin g and po licy; and to identify poor tactics and
emerg ing trends.
B Use of orce Policies
49. CDP wi ll deve lop a nd implement use of force policies that comp ly w ith app licabl e law
and are adequate to ac hieve the goals described in parag raph 45. The use of force
po licies w ill incorporate the use of force princip les above, and will specify that the
unreasonable use of force will subject officers to the disciplinary process , poss ible
cr imin al prosecution, and /or possible c ivil liability.
50 . CD P s policies w ill add ress the use and dep loyment of its au thorized force technique s,
tec hnolog ies, and weapons that are ava ilab le to CDP office rs, including standard-i ssue
weapons t hat are made ava ilable to all officers and weapons that are made avai lable
only to spec ialized units. The policies will clear ly define and describe each forceopt ion and the c ircum sta nces under which use of such fo rce is appropri ate.
51. CDP s po licies related to specific weapon s wi ll include training and certification
requirements that each officer must meet before bei ng permitted to carry a nd use the
authorized weapon.
52. No office r will carry any weapo n that i s not author ized or approved by CDP.
53. Prior to the use o f any approved weapon , the office r, when pos sible and appropriate,
wi ll communicate to the subject and other officers that the use o f the weapon is
immin ent, and allow the subject an oppo rtunit y to comp ly.
54. CDP w ill implement policies for each of the fo llow ing weapons using the fo llowing
gu idelines.
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1 Firearms
55. Officers w ill not unholster and display a firearm unless the c ircum stances c reate a
reasonab le belief that lethal fo rce may become necess ary. CD P s policies w ill require
and training will teach proper tec hniqu es for unh olsterin g display ing pointing and
aimin g a firea rm and for d eterminin g when it is appropriate. to do so. The Monit or will
review CDP s polici es and trainin g to ensure that they comp ly w ith this paragrap h. f
an offic er unhol sters a firearm durin g an incident interact ion or event that would
otherwi se tri gger a reportin g or dat a co llect ion requir ement officers w i d ocument that
a firearm was unholstered. CDP wi ll annua lly collect and analyze t i ~data.
56. U nho lste ring a firearm and po intin g it at a subject co nstitut es a Leve l 1 repo rtable use
of force a nd wi ll be repo rted and inves tigated as such. The fo llow ing exce ptions to this
repo rtin g requirem ent will apply:
a. SWAT Team Officers wi ll not be required to report the poin ting of a firearm
at a subject as a use of fo rce durin g the execution of SWAT Te am duti es;
b. offi cers who are deputized and assigned to a Fede ral Tas k Force w ill not be
required to repo rt the pointin g of a firearm at a subjec t as a use o f force when
conductin g federal task fo rce opera tions durin g which a supervisor is prese nt.
Reports or forms regarding any such incidents that are other wise prepared by
a Tas k Force supe rviso r wi ll be provided to C DP ;c. officers ass igned to the Gang Imp act Narcotics Hom icide Sex Cr ime s
Domestic Vi olence and Finan cial Crim es U nits will not be required to report
the pointin g of a firearm at a subject as a use o f force if done solely w hile
enter ing a nd sec uring a buildin g in connec tion with the exec ution of an arrest
or sea rch warrant and a s upervi so r prepa res a report detai ling the inc ident.
57. Office rs wi not fire wa rnin g shots.
58. Officers will consider their surrou ndings before discharg ing their firea rms a nd wi ll
avoid unnece ssary risk to bys tanders. vic tims and other officers.
59. Off icers will not discharge a firearm from or at a mov ing vehicle unle ss use of lethal
force is ju stifi ed by some thin g o ther than the threat from the movi ng veh ic le; office rs
w ill not intenti onally place themse lves i n the path of or reach inside a mov ing vehicle;
and where possi ble office rs wi ll attempt to move out of the path of a mov ing vehicle .
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60 . CD P annually w ill prov ide at leas t 16 hours o firearm s tra ining which wi ll incl ude
pistol , shotgun , and poli cy training. In consultation with the Monitor, CDP will
develop a p lan lo prov ide appropr iate night, reduced light, and stress training for
officer s. Officers wi ll successfu lly qua lify with each firearm they are a uthor ized to use
or carry on-dut y at leas t annua lly. Officers w ill be required t o qualify using profici ency
standards and will not be permitted to ca rry any firea rm on which they fai led to qua lify.
2 Electronic ntrol Weapons
6 1. Officers wi use Electro nic Co ntro l Weapon s (''EC Ws ) o nly where : ( I) gro unds for
arrest or de ten tion arc prese nt and the subject is ac tive ly or aggre ssive ly resisting and
lesse r means would be ineffectiv e; or (2) such fo rce is necessa ry to protect the office r,
the subject, or anoth er party from immediate phys ical harm, a nd lesse r means would be
ineffec tive or have bee n tried and fa iled.
62. Each standard 5-seco nd ECW app lication is a separate use of fo rce that officers mu st
indi vidua lly ju stify as reasonab le. Aft er the firs t ECW appli ca tion, the offic er will
reeva lua te the s ituation to detennin e if subsequ ent cyc les are reaso nab le. In
determinin g whether any add itional applic ation is reaso nable, o fficer s will consider that
a subject m ay not be able to respond to commands duri ng or imm ed iately fo llowi ng an
EC W applicatio n. Officer s w ill not employ more than three cyc les o an EC W against
a subject durin g a s ingle incident.
63. Officers w ill consider lran sitionin g to alte rnative co ntrol mea sures if the subj ect doe s
not res pond to ECW applicat ions.
64. Officer s will not use ECWs in drive stun mode solely as a pai n complian ce technique .
Officer s may use EC Ws in driv e stun mode only to supp lement the probe mod e to
compl ete the incapaci tat ion ci rcuit , or as a co untermeas ure to ga in separation b etween
o t1icers and the subj ect so tha t officer s can consider another force option.
65. Office rs wi determine the reaso nab leness orECW use based upon all the relevantcircumstance s, includ ing the subject's appare nt age, size, phys ical, and mentalconditi on, and the feas ibilit y o lesser force opt ions.
66. Excep t where lethal force is authorized, office rs will not use EC Ws where: ( I) a
deployment may cause seriou s physica l injury or deat h from situational haza rds
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incl udin g fa ll ing, losing con tro l of a moving vehicle, or becomin g ignited from t he
presence of potentia lly exp losive or flammable materia ls or substances; o r (2) the
subject is visi bly pregna nt, apparen tly e lde rly a ch ild , visib ly frai l, has obvious ly low
body mass, or is in apparent med ica l crisis.
67. Officers w ill not use ECWs on flee ing persons w ho do no t pose a threat of phys ical
harm to officers, ot her c ivilians, or themse lves.
68. Officers w ill not intentiona lly target ECWs to a subject s head , neck, o r genita lia.
69 . Officers w ill not normally use ECWs o n handcuffed or restrai ned persons . EC Ws wi ll
be used o n handcuffed or restrained persons o nly where the subje ct is disp laying
aggressive p hys ica l resistance and lesse r mean s would be ineffective or have been tried
and fa iled.
70. O ffice rs will carry ECWs in a weak-s ide holster to reduce the chances of acciden tallydraw ing and/or tiring a firear m.
71. Office rs will be trained in and fo llow protoco ls deve loped by CDP , in conjunction wit h
the City s EMS profess iona ls on the office r s responsibi lities fo llow ing ECW use,
including:
a. res trictions o n removing ECW probe s, including the requ ireme nts desc rib ed in
the next paragraph;
b. understa nding the risks o f pos itiona l asphyx ia and using res train t techniques
that do not impai r the subj ect s respiration fo llow ing a EC W app licat ion;
c. monitoring all subjects who have rece ived an ECW applica tion while in pol ice
custody; a nd
d. inform ing medical personnel o f a ll subject s who have bee n subjected to
multiple ECW app licat ions, includin g prol onged app licat ions (more than 15
seco nds); or who appear to be under th e infl uence o f drugs or exh ibit ing
symptoms associa ted wi th exc ited de lirium ; or who were kept in prone
restra ints after ECW use.
72. T he City wi ll ensu re that a ll subjec ts who have been exposed to an ECW application
rece ive a med ical evaluation by emerge ncy medica l respo nders in the fie ld or at a
medica l fac ility. Abse nt exige nt circumstances , prob es will be removed from a
subjec t s sk in on ly by medical per sonne l or prope rly train ed officers.
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73. In additi on to the force report ing requir eme nts outl ined in paragraph 88, office rs will
c learly articu late and ju sti fy the following regarding their ECW use in a written
narrative:
a. eac h and every ECW cyc le used on a subject or attempte d agai nst a subject;
b. use o the EC W in drive stun mode;
e. EC W application for more than 5 seco nds;
d. continu ous cyc ling o an ECW;
e. ECW app lica tion on a flee ing person; and
f ECW ap plica tion by more than one officer.
74 . Oflicers who have been issued ECWs wi ll rece ive annual ECW certifi cations, whic h
w ill consist o physical competency; weapon retention; CD P po licy, including any
policy chan ges; technolo gy cha nges; and scenario-based train ing.75. CD P wi ll develop a nd implement integrity safeguards on the use o ECWs to ensure
co mplian ce with CD P po licy. CDP wi ll conduct qua1terly downloads o all ECWs.
CDP will conduct random and directed aud its o ECW app lica tion data, which will be
provided to the Moni tor for rev iew . The aud its should includ e a compariso n o the
downloaded data to the officer s Use o Fo rce Reports. Discrepancies w ithin the aud it
should be add resse d and approp riately invest iga ted.
76. ECW app lication data will be tracke d and ana lyzed in CDP s Office r lntc rventi on
Program.
3. O leorcsin Capsicum Spray ( OC Spray )
77. Officer s will apply OC spray on ly: I) when such force is reasonable to protect the
office r, the subject, or another party from physica l ha1m and lesser means would be
ineffective; or 2) for crowd dispersa l or protection and o ther means would be mo re
intru sive or less effec tive.
78. After o ne stan dard OC spray (one second) , eac h subseque nt application is a separa te
use o force that officers must individually j ustify as reasonable.
79. Officers will not normally use OC spray on handcuffe d or restrai ned persons. QC spray
w ill be used on handc uffed o r res train ed persons only where the subject is disp lay ing
agg ressive physical res is tance and lesse r means wou ld be ineffec tive o r have been tried
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and failed.
80. Office rs w ill be trained in and fo llow prot oco ls develo ped by CDP in conj unction with
the Ci ty s EMS professio nals, o n the o ffice r s respo nsibilities fo llow ing OC spray use,
inc lud ing:
a. decontamin ating eve ry subject exposed to chemica l spray by using coo l wa ter
to flush the s ubj ect s face a nd eyes within 20 minut es of gainin g co ntro l of the
scene. Officers need not deco ntaminate subjec ts w ho we re on ly seco ndarily
exposed to OC spray, for exa mple, when OC s pray is used for crow d control,
un less requested b y the subject;
b. und erstandin g the risks of posit ional asphyx ia and using restraint techniques
lhat do not impair the subject s respirat ion fo llow ing an OC spray appli catio n;
c. requ esting med ical response or assis tance for subjects ex pose d t o OC sp raywhen they complain of co ntinued effec ts afte r hav ing bee n deco ntaminated , or
they indicate that they have a p re-ex isting medical conditi on (e.g., ast hma
emphysema bronc hiti s, hear t ailment, etc.) that may be agg ravated by OC
spray.
8 1. O fficers wi ll carry only CD P issued OC spray.
82. CDP w i maintain documenta tion of tbc numb er of OC spray caniste rs dis tri butcd to
and uti zed b y eac h office r.
83. OC spray appl icatio n da ta w ill be tracked and analyzed in CDP s Office r Int erve ntion
Progra m.
C . Use of F orce Training
84. As part of its trainin g requir ements in Sec tion XI of this Agreement, wi thin 365 days of
the E ff ec tive Date CDP wi ll provid e a ll curr ent offic ers use of force trainin g that is
adequate in quality quant ity sco pe and type and that inc ludes :
a. proper use of for ce dec ision-mak ing;
b. use of fo rce reporting requireme nts;
c. the Fourth Amendment and related law;
d. de-esca lation techniqu es, both verba l and tact ica l, that empowe r officers to
make ar rests w ithout us ing force and instruction tha t disengage ment, area
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containment survei llance waiting out a subject summ oning reinforc ements,
using cover ca llin g in specia lized unit s o r delaying arrest may be the
appropr iate respo nse to a s ituation even whe n the u se o f force would be
legall y justified;
e. role-playing scenarios and interactive e xe rcise s that illu st rate proper use of
force decision-makin g includin g trainin g on the import ance of peer
interven tion;
f. the pr oper dep loyment and use o f all intermed iate weapons or techno log ies;
g. the risks of prolo nged or repeated ECW exposure includin g that expos ure to
EC Ws for lon ger than 5 seconds w hether due to multiple app lications or
con tinu ous cyc ling) may increase the risk of death or serious phys ica l injur y;
h. the increase d risks ECWs may present to a subject who is pregnant e lderly achi ld frail has low body mass o r is in medical cris is;
1. that when using an ECW the d rive stun mode is generally less effective than
the prob e mode a nd when used repeated ly, may exacerbate the situation ;
J. firearm s trainin g as desc rib ed in paragraph 60;
k. fac tors to co nsider in initiatin g or continuing a ve hicle pur suit ; and
I for supervi so rs of all ranks as part of their initial and annual in -se rv ice
superviso ry trainin g, trainin g in conducting use or force inve stiga tions;
strategies for effectively directing officers to minimi ze uses of force a nd to
intervene effectively to prevent or stop unre aso nable force ; and supporti ng
officers who report unreasonab le or unrepo1ted force o r who are reta liated
agajnst for attempt ing to preve nt unre aso nable force.
85. C DP also wi ll prov ide the use of force trainin g described in para graph 84 to all new
office rs as part of its trainin g Academy.
86. CDP wi ll pro vide a ll officer s with ann ual use of force in-servic e trainin g that is
adequate in qualit y quantit y, type and scope.
D. Use of Force Reporting Policy nd Use of Force Reports
87. Within 365 days of the Effective Date CDP wi ll deve lop and implement a single,
uni form, rcpo1 i ng system pursuant to a Use of Force Reportin g po licy. CD P uses of
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force will be di vided into three leve ls. The three leve ls for the reporting , inves tigation,
and rev iew o f use o force co rrespond to the amount o forc e used and/or the o utcome
of the force. T his Agreement s categorization o these types o uses o fo rce is based
on the fo llowin g factors: potential of the techniqu e or weapo n to cause injur y; degree
o injury caused; deg ree o pa in experienced; degree o f disabilit y experienced by the
subject ; comp laint by the subject; degree o restraint of th e subject; impairment of the
functi oning o any organ; durat ion o force; and phys ica l vu lne rabi lity o the subject.
Each leve l o force will require incr eas ingly rigo rous reportin g, inves tiga tion, and
rev iew. The leve ls o for ce are defined as fo llows:
a. Leve l 1 is force that is reasonably ex pected t o cause only transient pain and/or
diso rientation durin g its applicat ion as a means o gainin g co mpli ance
inc luding pressure point compliance and joint manipulati on techniques, butthat i s not reasonably expected to cause injury, doe s not result in an actua l
inj ury, and does not res ult in a complaint o injury. It does not inc lude
escort ing touching, or handc uffin g a perso n with no or minimal resistance.
Un holstering a fire arm and pointin g it at a subject is repo rtable as a Leve l 1
use o force wit h the exceptions set forth in paragr aph 56 .
b. Leve l 2 is force that causes an injur y could reasonably be expec ted to cause
an injur y or results in a complaint o an inj ury, but does not rise to the leve l
o a Leve l 3 use o force . Level 2 includes the use o an ECW, including
where an ECW is fired at a person but misses; OC Sp ray app licat ion;
weapon less defense tec hniqu es (e.g. , e lbow or closed -fi st st rikes, kicks. leg
sweeps, and takedown s); use o f an impact weapon, except for a s trike to· he
head, neck or face w ith an impact weapon; and any canine apprehension.
c. Level 3 is force that inc ludes: (1) uses o le thal force; (2) uses o fo rce
resul ting in deat h or se rious physical injur y; (3) uses o force res ulting in
hosp ital admiss ion; (3) a ll neck ho lds; (4) u ses o force resulting in a loss o
consciousness ; (5) can ine bites ; (6) more than three appl icat ions o an ECW
on an indi vidual durin g a single interactio n, regardless o the mode or dur ation
o the application , and regard less o whether the appli cat ions a re by the same
or different o fice rs or an EC W app lication for longer than 15 seco nds
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whether co ntinu ous or consec utive; and 7) any Leve l 2 use o f force aga inst a
handcuffed s ubjec t.
88. A ll officers using o r observ ing force w ill report in writin g, before the e nd of their shift ,
the use of force in a Use o f Force Repo rt. The Use of Forc e Report w ill inc lude: ( l ) a
detailed accoun t of the inc ident from t he office r 's pe rspec tive; (2) the reaso n fo r th e
initi a l pol ice presence; (3) a spec ific description of the acts that led to the use of force;
(4) the leve l of res istance encou ntered; a nd (5) a co mple te and acc urat e desc rip tion o f
eve ry type o f fo rce used or obse rved. The use of force report ing policy wi ll exp licitly
proh ibit the use of co nc lusory statement s, ''bo ilerp late, o r canned language (e.g. ,
' f urtive movement o r li gh ting s tance ) , without supp orting detail.
89 . Officer s w ill be su bject to the discip linary process for materia l omiss ions o r
mi srepr esentat ions in their l:Jse o f Force Reports.90. Office rs w ho use or obse rve force and fa il to repo rt it wi ll be subject to the disciplinary
process, up to a nd includ ing terminati on, regardle ss of whether the force was
reaso nab le.
9 1. Office rs who use or obse rve force w ill noti fy their supervisors, or ensure that thei r
superv isors have been notifi ed , as soon as practical following any use of force. An
office r who becomes awa re of an a llega tion of unreasonable or unreported fo rce by
another officer must imm ed iate ly not ify his or her s upe rvisor of that alle gation.
92. Use of Force Reports w ill be maintained ce ntr ally.
E. Use of Force Investigations
93. /\superv isor who was invo lved in a use of force, includin g by participating in or
orde ring the fo rce und er inve stigation, will not inves tigate the incid ent or review the
Use o f Force Reports for approva l or disapproval.
1 Inve st igations of Level 1 Uses of Force
94. T he direct superviso r of the ofiicer(s) emp loying a Level I u se o f force wi ll review and
app rove the use of force in writin g, return the Use of Force Report to the office r for
revision, or elevate the Level 1 use o f force befo re the end of the supervi sor' s shift
followi ng the shift o n whic h the Leve l 1 force was used. l f the Use of Force Report i s
return ed to the office r fo r revisio n, a ll rev isions and addi tional review s wi ll be
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co mp leted within 5 days o the use o force. t is not mandatory fo r supe rvisors to
repo rt t o the sce ne o f a Level use o force. S upe rvisors w ill elevate and investigate
any Leve l l use o fo rce that appears to have v iolated po licy or was i mp roperly
ca tego rized as a Leve l I use o f fo rce . f a s uperv isor determines that an oflicer s report
reveals ev idence o a use o force invo lving potential c 1imin al co nduct, he or s he will
imm ediately notif y Internal Affairs.
2 Investigations of Level 2 Uses of orce
95. The di rect superviso r o the office r(s) using force, upon n otificat ion o a Level 2 use o
force incident or allega tion o excess ive force, will respo nd to t he loca t ion o the
occu rrence. Where the force is a Leve l I bu t the subj ec t has a lleged excessive force ,
the supe rv isor wil l res po nd to the scene to de term ine whether a Leve l I or Level 2
investiga tion should be co ndu cted.
96. If a CD P supervisor uses a Level 2 use o fo rce , a s uperv iso r o a higher rank will
respo nd to the loca tion o the occ urrence a nd co mpl y with the requirements o f this
sec tion .
97. For a ll Level 2 uses o force , the dir ect s uperviso r wlll :
a. respo nd to the sce ne , examine t he s ubj ect o the force for injur y, and interview
the s ubject for compl a ints o pa in a fter adv ising the sub j ec t tha t the interview
perta ins o nly to the use o r force and not to a ny und erly ing a lleged cr ime a ndthat the subjec t need not answe r questions ;
b. where approp riate, ensure t hat the subj ect receives medica l atten tion from an
ap propriate medica l provider ;
c. o btain an iden tify ing numb er that a llows C DP to trac k the u se o fo rce;
d. identify and co llect all ev idence re leva nt t the use o f force and eva luate that
ev idence to determine whether the use o fo rce: ( 1 was consis tent wi th CDP
po licy; and/or (2) ra ises a ny po licy , trainin g, tac tica l, o r equipmen t concerns ;
e. ensu re that a ll ev ide nce that could es tab lish mate rial facts re lated to the use o
force , including audio a nd video recordings , photographs , and ot her
documentation o injuries or the abse nce o injuries i s co llected ;
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f. ensure that a canvass fo r civilian wi tnesses is condu cted and interview a ll
civilian witn esses . Supervisors will either reco rd the interview or e ncourage
civi lian witn esses to provi de a nd sign a written statement in their ow n words;
g. ensure that all officers w itness ing a use of force incident by another office r
complete a Use of Force Repo rt. Superviso rs w ill ensure that all Use of Fo rce
Reports ide ntify all offi cers w ho we re invo lved in the incident, witn esse d the
inc ident, or were o n the sce ne when it occurred ;
h. ensure t hat invo lved of ce rs arc inte rviewe d sepa rately fro m one another.
Gro up interv iews w ill be prohi bi ted. Supe rvisors wi ll not ask officers or other
witnesses leadin g quest ions that sugges t lega l ju stifi cations for the officers
condu ct, w here such questions are contr ary to appro priate law e nforc ement
techniqu es; a nd1. eac h inves tigating supervisor w ill prov ide a brief written synops is to their
im mediate supervisor, which will be forwarde d thro ugh the cha in of com mand
to t he District Commander by the e nd of the shift on w hich the force occ urr ed,
documentin g the supervisor s prelimin ary dete rmin a tion of the
appropriateness or the use of fo rce.
98. T he investiga ting supervisor will ensure that all Use of Force Repor ts include the
information required by this Agreement and CD P po licy; co nsider a ll releva nt
ev idence, inc ludin g circum stanti al, direct, and physical ev idence, as appropri ate; and
make cre dibili ty determin ations if feas ible. Supe rvisors will make all reaso nable
efforts th rough the inves tigation to reso lve materia l inconsiste ncies betwee n the officer,
subj ect, a nd wi tness state ments, as we ll as inconsistencies be twee n the leve l of force
claimed by the of ficer a nd the subjec t s injuries, a nd inconsistencies betwee n multip le
o fficers. CDP will tr ain a ll invest igatin g supervisors on how to e ff ec tive ly co mplete
these tasks .
99. Wheneve r a superviso r d etermines that there may have been mi scondu ct, the supervisor
will imm ediately no tify Internal Affa irs and Intern al Affai rs will dete rmine if it should
respond to the scene and/or condu ct or take ove r the inves tiga tion.
100. Wi thin ve days of lea rni ng of the use of fo rce, eac h supervisor wi ll co mplete a nd
doc umen t his/her inves tigation u sing a superviso r s Use of r o rce Report. A ny
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ex tension to t his dea dlin e must be autho rized by a Di strict Commander . This Report
will include the fo llow ing:
a. the supervisor s na rrative descr iption of the incident, includi ng a prec ise
desc rip tion of he ev idence that ei ther ju st ifies or fai ls to just ify the officers
conduct base d on the superviso r s independent review of the facts a nd
circumstances o f the inciden t;
b. doc umentat ion of all ev idence that was gathered, includ ing names, ph one
numb ers, and addresses of witnesses to the inc ident. In situations in which
there a re no known w itnesses , the repo rt will spec ifica lly state tha t fact. In
si tuations in which witnesses were prese nt but ci rcums tances preve nted the
supervisor from determi ning the identificat ion, phone number, or address o f
those w itnesses, the repo rt will state the reaso ns why. The report should a lsoinclude a ll ava ilable identi fy ing infor mation fo r anyone who refused to
provide a state ment;
c. the names of all CDP employees who used force o r witnesse d the use of force;
d. the investigat ing superviso r s eva lua tion of the use of fo rce, based on the
superviso r s review o f the evi dence ga thered, includin g a determin ation of
whether the of ficers actions appear to be withi n CDP p olicy a nd consis tent
with state a nd federal law; a nd an assessmen t of the incident for po licy,
tra ining tactica l or equ ipment conce rns includin g w hether the use of force
may have bee n avoi ded th rough the use of de-esca lation tec hniques or lesser
fo rce opt ions; and
e. doc umen tation of any non-disciplin ary co rrect ive act ion taken.
I0 1. Inves tigatory superv isors will b e s ubject to the disc iplinar y process for fa iling to
adequately investiga te and documen t a use of force and material omi ssions or
misreprese ntations in the superviso ry inves tigation. An invest iga tory superv iso r s
fai lure to adequately invest igate a use of fo rce w ill be addressed in their per fom1ancc
rev iew.
102. Upon co mpletion of the superv isor s Use o f Force Report, the inves tigating superv isor
will fo rwa rd the report th rough their cha in of co mm and to t he D istrict Co mm ander,
who wi ll review the repor t to ensure that it is complete and that the find ings are
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supp orted using the preponde rance of the ev idence stand ard . Eac h leve l in the c hain of
co mm and will rev iew the repo rt within 72 hours of rece iving it Rev iew ing s upe rvisors
in the chain of com mand wi ll or der add itional inves tiga tion when it appears t hat th ere is
additional re levant ev ide nce that m ay assis t in reso lving inconsistencies or improve the
reliability o r credibility of th e find ings
IOJ Wh ere the findin gs of the Use of Fo rce Report are not sup ported b y a prepo nderance o f
the ev iden ce the inve stigatin g s uperviso r s chain of comm and will doc ument the
reaso ns for thi s determin ation and will inc lude this docum entation as an addendum Lo
the or iginal inves tiga tion The inves tiga ting s upervi sor s supe rior will co unse l the
inves tigat ing s uperv isor rega rding the inadequately supp orted de termin ation a nd o f any
inves tiga tive deficiencies that led to it The District Co mm ander will be respons ible for
the acc uracy a nd comp lete ness o f Use o f Force Reports prepared by superv iso rs undertheir comm and .
I 04. Where an invest iga ting supervisor conducts deficient inves tigations the superviso r will
rece ive the appropri ate corrective ac tion inc ludin g trainin g or demotion in acco rdance
w ith p erforman ce evalu at ion procedur es and /or the disc ip linary process.
105 Wheneve r an inves tigatin g s upe rvi sor rev iewing s uperv isor or District Com mand er
finds ev idence of a use o f fo rce in vo lving potentia l crim inal conduct by an of ficer he
or she w ill suspe nd the force invest igat ion immediately and noti f y Internal Affai rs
Internal Affa irs wi ll imm ed iate ly noti f y FIT. which will take over bo th the c rimin al and
admini stra tive inves tiga tion
106 . When the District Co mmand er finds that the inves tigati on is complete a nd the fi ndin gs
are supported by the ev ide nce the inves tigation file will be prompt ly fo rwa rded to
Intern al A ffa irs. Int ernal Aff airs w ill rev iew the inves tigation to e nsure that it is
complete and that th e findin gs arc supported b y the ev idence.
I07. When Internal Affairs completes its rev iew it will forwa rd the co mplete fi le to the
Chief of CDP for di sposit ion.
I08. A t the discre tion of the C hie f his or her desig nee or Internal Affa irs a use of force
inves tigation m ay be ass igned or re-assig ned fo r invest igatio n to F IT or to a nother
superv iso r whether within or o utside of the District in which the incident occ u1Ted o r
may be return ed to the District fo r furth er inves tiga tion or analys is This assig nme nt or
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re-assignment will be exp la ined in writing.
I09. Where , after invest igatio n, a use of force is found to be out of policy , the C hief will
direct and ens ure the appropr iate discip linary process. Where the use of fo rce indica tes
po licy , trainin g, tact ica l, or equipment conce rns, the Chief wi ll ensure a lso that
necessary trainin g is delivered and that po licy, tactica l, or e quipm ent co ncerns are
reso lved.
3. Force Investigation eam and Investigations of Leve l 3 Uses of Force
0. CDP may refer crim inal inves tigat ions of uses of force to an independent and highly
competent agency o utside CD P where appro priate to ensure the fact a nd/or appearance
o f impartia lity of investigations.
111 . The Internal Affairs Uni t will include CD P 's Force Investigation Team ( FIT ). Each
FIT w ill be a team compri sed of personnel from var ious units and w il l not be a new unit
to which office rs a re permanently assigned. The FIT w ill conduct ad min istrative
invest igation s in all of the fo llow ing instances and , where approp riate a nd where not
assigned to an outs ide age ncy as permitt ed above , will conduct cr imin al invest iga tions
of: 1) all Leve l 3 uses of fo rce ; 2) uses of force invo lving potenti al crim inal conduc t
by an office r; 3) all instances in which an individua l died while in, or a s an appare nt
result of being in, CDP custody; and (4) any uses of fo rce reass igned to FfT by the
Chief o r his or her de signee. T he FfT wi ll be designe d to ensure that these incident s areinves tigated fully and fai rly by individua ls w ith appropr iate expe rtise, indepe ndence ,
and inves tigative ski lls to ens ure that uses of force that are contrary to law or po licy arc
identifie d; that trainin g, tact ica l, and equipm en t deficie ncies re lated to the use of force
are identified; and that invest iga tions a re of suffi c ient quality.
112. FlT will be compri sed of personnel who ha ve specialized training and expe rti se. The
FIT memb ersh ip will be tailored to the c ircumstances of eac h inv est iga tion , but wi ll
normally include one or mor e FIT detec tives, the FIT sergea nt , an Office of
Professio nal Standa rds inves tiga tor , an Inte rnal Affa irs inves tigator , and a Homicide
Unit supervisory officer , who will serve as the Team ' s leader . OPS investigators w ill
not pa1ieipate in cri minal inves tigation s. At least one member of the fl wi ll be
avai lab le at all times to eva luate potentia l referra ls from CDP superviso rs.
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3 Prior to performi ng F IT duti es, FIT members will rece ive FIT-spec ific trainin g that is
adequate i n quali ty, quant ity sco pe, and type , incl uding FIT procedure s, includ ing
ca llou t and invest igat ive protocol s; the difference s between administrative and criminal
investigat ions and how eac h should be conduc ted; inves tigat ions of ortice r-in vo lved
shoo tings; investiga tive equipment and technique s; and proper ro les of the fo llow ing:
on-scene counte rpart s, such as cr ime sce ne tech nicians; the Monit or; any outside
inves tigating age ncy ; the prosec utor s o ffice; and OPS. The trainin g a lso wi ll address
techniqu es for object ive fac t-gat herin g and evaluat ion and the factors to co ns ider whe n
eva luating cred ibility. FIT invest igators a lso will rece ive annual in-service trainin g that
is adeq uate in quantity , qua lity , type , and sco pe .
114. W ith in day s from the Effec tive Date, CDP will identify , assi gn, and tra in personnel for
the FIT to fulfill the requ irement s of this Ag reement.11 5 FIT will respond to the scene of every incident invo lving a use of fo rce fo r whic h it is
requir ed to condu ct an inves tigat ion. The FIT leader w ill imm ediate ly noti fy the
appropriat e pro sec utor s offic e. If the Ci ty elect s to utili ze an outside age ncy to
co nduct the cr im inal investiga tion, the FlT leade r will no tify the designated outs ide
agency to respond to the scene to conduct the crimin a l inve stiga tion.
116. CDP will deve lop and imp lement polici es to ensure that, where an outside a gency
conduct s the cr iminal inves tiga lion, FIT condu cts a concurrent and tho rough
ad ministrative inves tigation.
7. Before u s ing an outside age ncy t o co nduct criminal invest igations, C DP wi ll deve lop a
memorandum of under stand ing with the o uts ide agency to ensure lha t after an
appropr iate prosec utor review, completed crimi nal invest igat ions are prov ided to FIT
and the Monitor, and that information ob tain ed from or as a result of any compe lled
interviews o f office rs is not provided to criminal inve stigators. The memor andum of
und erstandin g a lso will de lineate responsibi lities between the two agencies and
estab lish invest igative prot oco ls to ensure, to the ex tent possib le, thorou gh, objective
and tim ely admini strative and crimin al investiga tions.
118 . FIT will :
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a. assume control of the use of force inve stigati on upon their arri val , unless an
outside age ncy is conduc ting the crimin al inves tigation and con tro l of the
scene by the crim inal invest igating body is appro priate;
b. ensure that a canvass fo r, and i nterview of, civ ilian witnesses is cond ucted by
Fl team memb ers. FIT m embe rs w ill either record the interview or
encoura ge civili an witnesses to prov ide a nd sign w ritten stateme nts in the ir
ow n wo rds, but w ill take info rmation from civilian witne sses who have
pertinent info rmation eve n if they refuse to be reco rded or refu se to co mplete
or sign a formal statement ;
c. arran ge for photographin g and proce ssing of the sce ne;
d. ensure that all ev idence that could estab lish m ater ial facts related to the use o f
force includ ing aud io and video reco rding s, phot ographs, and otherdocumentation of injuri es or the abse nce of injuri es is co llected ;
e. exam ine the subject fo r injury , photog raph areas o f injur y or co mplaint o f
inju ry int erview the subj ect for comp laints of pain afte r advi s ing the subject
that the interview pertains only to the use of force and not to any unde rlying
allege d crime and that the subject need not answe r questions, and ensure t hat
the subject receive s medical atte ntion from a n appropr iate med ical pro vider;;
f. ensure that all officers w itness ing the use of force by anot her officer co mplete
a use of force report rega rding the inc ident;
g. review all use o f fo rce report s to ensure that they include the informat ion
required by CDP policy ;
h. consistent with app licab le law, interview all office rs who witness or arc
oth erwise involved in the incident. To the ex tent possible, office rs will be
separat ed until interviewed. Group interviews wi ll be prohibited. IT wi ll not
ask officers or ot her witne sses leadin g ques tions that sugges t legal
ju stifi cations fo r the o fficer s conduct , when s uch quest ions a re contrary to
appropr iate law enforce ment techniq ues. FIT wi ll reco rd all interviews. FIT
wi ll ensure that a ll FIT investigatio n reports identif y all o fficers who were
invo lved in the inciden t, witnessed the incid ent, or were on the sce ne when it
occurr ed;
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1. arran ge for body worn cam era v ideo downl oads;
j . prov ide an initial b riefi ng to a trainin g representati ve at the sta rt of the
inves tigation t o e nsure that any trainin g iss ues that requir e imm edia te
attenti on are identified , and continu e to co nsult as appropriate wi th the
trainin g representati ve; and
k. make all reasonabl e effort s throu gh the investigation to resolve mater ial
inconsi stencie s between the officer, subject , and witn ess s tatements, as well as
inconsistencie s between the leve l of fo rce claimed b y the offi ce r and the
subject s injurie s.
9. On at leas t an annu al basis, the Monitor will determin e w hether the crimi na l
inves tigation s conducted b y the o uts ide age ncy a re co nsistentl y o bjec tive, timely, a nd
compreh ensive. If he Monitor determin es that they a re not and the C ity di sag rees, theCourt will reso lve the disagree ment. f a determination is made that the investigations
arc not consistentl y o bjective , timely, and compreh ensive , the memorandum of
under standin g will be termin a ted and the FIT will ass um e respons ibi lity for condu cting
a ll crim inal inves tigation s of uses of fo rce .
120. Ir the FfT leader determines that a case has the poten tia l to procee d crimin ally
compelled inter views of the subjec t offi cer s) w ill be delayed. No other part o f the
investigation w ill be held in abeyance un less s pec ifica lly a uthorized by the C hief in
consultati on with the agency condu ct ing the criminal investigation a nd the appropriate
prosec utor s office.
12 1. The FIT leader will complete a pre limin ary report that w ill be prese nted to the C hief of
Po lice or the Chie r s designee as soo n as poss ible, but absent exigent circum stances, no
later than 24 hours after learnin g of the use of force.
122. With the exce ption of comp elled interviews as describ ed in p arngraph 120, FIT will
comp le te its admini strati ve investigati on within 60 days. Any request fo r an extension
of time must be supp orted by a writl en j ustificat ion and appro ved in writin g by the
Chief or the C hiers des ignee. CDP s inab ility to co mplet e the investiga tion beca use it
is awaitin g info rmation from an outside agenc y, such as the m edical exam iner s office ,
will co nstitute suffic ient bas is for such an ex tension for that portion of the
invest iga tion. Within seve n days o f the conclu sion of eac h use of force inves tiga tion,
30
8/9/2019 Cleveland-DOJ Consent Decree
36/110
FIT will prepare an invest igation report a nd reco mme nd whethe r the prepo nderance of
the ev idence estab lishes that the invo lved o fficer(s) v iolated CD P po licy, and whethe r
any tra ining o r policy conce rns a re presente d. FIT's i nves tigative report and
reco mmendations w ill be reviewe d by the head o f l ntema J Affa irs. W ithin three
business days , the head o f In ternal /\ffai rs will approve or disapprove FTT s
reco mmendations, or request th at FIT condu ct add itional inves tigation. A ny request for
additi onal invest iga tion and the F IT s respo nse will be doc umented and mainta ined in
the i nvest igatory file. Internal Affa irs will forward the invest igat ive repo rt to the C hief
of Po lice for review a nd approva l.
123. CD P w ill revise t he FIT manua l to ensure a t it is consis ten t with the force principles
ou tlin ed in this Agreement and includes the fo llowing :
a. guidance o n an approp riate approac h whe n providi ng arrity warnings andprotectio ns to of ficers for answe ring ques tions rega rd ing thei r uses of fo rce ;
b. clea r proced ures to ensure approp riate sepa ration o f crimin al and
administrat ive invest igations in the eve nt of compe lled s ubject office r
statements;
c. de
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