UNC Police: General Order 01-03R7 - Officer Involved Shootings, In-custody Deaths, or Serious Injuries

Title

UNC Police: General Order 01-03R7 - Officer Involved Shootings, In-custody Deaths, or Serious Injuries

Document Information

Purpose

The purpose of this general order is to ensure a consistent response and follow up procedure for any officer involved shooting, in-custody death, or serious injury of any suspect.

Policy

It is the policy of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Police Department (UNC-CH Police Department) to thoroughly investigate all officer-involved shootings, in-custody deaths, or incidents that result in serious injuries. For purposes of this G.O., officer-involved shootings consist of the discharge of a firearm except in training or for recreational purposes.

Units Affected

UNC-CH Police Department Sworn and Non-Sworn Personnel.

Definitions and Descriptions

Critical Incident: Event out of the range of normal experience, one which is sudden and unexpected, involves the perception of a threat to life and can include elements of physical and emotional loss.

NCSBI: North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.

Serious Bodily Injury: Bodily injury that creates a substantial risk to death, or that causes serious permanent disfigurement, coma, a permanent or protracted condition that causes extreme pain, or permanent or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ, or that results in prolonged hospitalization.

References/Forms

• North Carolina Crimes, A Guidebook on the Elements of Crime, Jessica Smith
• North Carolina General Statute § 14-33 (c)(8) Assault on Company or Campus Police Officer
• North Carolina General Statute §14-34.2 Assault with a Firearm or Other Deadly Weapon on a Government Officer or Employee or Company or Campus Police Officer
• North Carolina General Statute §15A-401(d)1 & 2, Use of Force in Arrest
• North Carolina General Statute Chapter 132, Public Records Law
• State of North Carolina Human Resources Manuel, Disciplinary Action Policy
• State v. Avery, 315 NC 1 (1985)
• State v. Ferguson, 261 N.C 558, 560 (1964)
• State v. Tice, 191 N.C. App. 506, 509 (2008)
• UNC-CH Police Department General Order 01-01 Use of Force
• UNC-CH Police Department General Order 01-02 Firearms Policy
• UNC-CH Police Department General Order 03-09 Disciplinary Procedures
• UNC-CH Police Department General Order 03-13 Employee Health and Physical Fitness
• UNC-CH Police Department General Order 03-10 Intern Affairs/Complaints Investigations and Inquiry
• UNC-CH Police Department General Order 06-03 Body Worn Camera
• UNC-CH Police Department General Order 08-02 Preliminary, Follow-up of Criminal Investigations, Cold Case Files
• UNC-CH Police Department Records Management System
• UNC-CH Police Use of Force Report

Procedures

I. Notification and responsibilities for an officer-involved shooting, in-custody death, or serious injuries

1. The officer is responsible for the following tasks:
   1. Immediately summon medical assistance.
   2. Immediately after summoning medical assistance, verbally notify their immediate supervisor for an in-custody death, after shooting at a person or vehicle, or when the officer’s actions have resulted in the death or serious physical injury of another person.
   3. The verbal notification must be followed up by a written report by the officer before the officer’s shift is completed, if the officer is on duty, and within 24 hours, if off duty.
2. The responding supervisor is responsible for the following tasks:
   1. Confirm that medical assistance is summoned and is being provided.
   2. Notify the staff duty officer (SDO) and the Chief of Police about the incident.
   3. Instruct the communications center to contact the Criminal Investigations Division (CID) supervisor and the UNC-CH Police Department quartermaster, and have them respond to the department.
      1. The UNC-CH Police Department quartermaster is only contacted for officer involved shootings and for assistance as needed.
   4. Coordinates the activities of responding back-up units.
   5. Ensures that the incident scene is protected, and witnesses are isolated, identified and detained for statements.
   6. Remove officer(s) with their weapon(s) from the incident scene as quickly as possible, to the Public Safety Building or treatment facility, if necessary. Assign an officer to stay with the involved officer(s). Weapon(s) are collected directly by an investigator, to reduce chain of custody issues.
   7. Ensures that reports are complete and submitted prior, to the end of shift. In shooting incidents, pending authorization of the Chief of Police or the Chief’s designee, the officer(s) involved in the incident can be issued a replacement weapon by the quartermaster. In critical incidents that do not involve a shooting, the officer(s) involved in the incident, retains their weapon.
   8. Secure all body worn camera(BWC) footage from officers and make sure footage is downloaded and labeled Please refer to UNC-CH Police Department G.O. 06-03 for more detailed description of how to handle BWC footage.
   9. Check with officers and communications personnel to make sure they are not in need of any crisis counseling, prior to the end of their shift.
3. The CID supervisor is responsible for the following tasks:
   1. Contacts the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NCSBI) and serves as the NCSBI liaison.
   2. Contacts any other members of CID, for an immediate response to the scene, if additional assistance is needed.
   3. Evaluates the scene and circumstances surrounding the shooting.
   4. Notifies the Chief of Police or the Chief’s designee, and brief the Chief or the Chief’s designee on the CID supervisor’s initial findings.
   5. Contacts the Orange County District Attorney.
4. The administrative services commander is responsible for the following tasks:
   1. Investigate any incident involving a shooting, death, or serious injury, that occurs as a result of an officer’s action(s), to determine whether departmental policies were followed.
   2. Identify any deficiencies or procedures that could be addressed by training.
      1. These incidents may include, but are not limited to:
         1. Any discharge of a department weapon;
         2. A traffic collision that results in serious injury or death;
         3. A training exercise that results in a serious injury or death; or
         4. Any other incident of which the Chief of Police deems necessary to conduct an administrative review or Investigation.
5. The Chief of Police or the Chief’s designee is responsible for the following tasks:
   1. Notify the Associate Vice Chancellor for Campus Safety and Rick Management, the UNC-CH Police Department’s public information officer (PIO), and the administrative services commander, if they are not the staff officer on duty.

II. Investigation

1. The UNC-CH Police Department’s CID is responsible for processing the incident/crime scene and collecting evidence. The Chief of Police, or the Chief’s designee, may request assistance from an outside agency in conducting the investigation and evidence collection.
   1. CID works with the NCSBI investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting, death, or serious injury of an individual. If the incident occurs outside of the UNC-CH Police Department’s jurisdiction, the law enforcement agency of jurisdiction is requested to conduct the investigation.
   2. The NCSBI, when requested by the Chief of Police or Chief’s designee, is responsible for investigating the officer's actions related to an in-custody death or serious injury to determine, whether the actions of the officer were justified or whether the officer's actions constitute a violation of law. The SBI's findings are reported to the Orange County District Attorney.
   3. Once requested by the Chief of Police or Chief’s designee, the NCSBI Investigators respond to the Public Safety Building and conduct their investigation. The CID supervisor or CID supervisor designee is the liaison, with the NCSBI during the investigation to assist the UNC-CH Police Department’s investigators.
   4. The NCSBI's role is only to investigate the officer's actions and determine whether or not, the officer's actions are legal. Interviews of the involved officers by the SBI or others must occur as soon as practical, considering the need to balance proper investigative follow-up with the medical or psychological needs of the officer(s). Any decision to delay the interviews must be authorized by the Chief of Police or the Chief’s designee.
   5. In order to conduct a thorough and effective investigation, the SBI requests cooperation concerning the following issues:
      1. The NCSBI Investigators usually is the first to interview the primary officer involved in the critical incident, and other officers that are directly involved;
      2. The NCSBI needs oral statements from the involved officers and witnesses, which the SBI Investigators will obtain during subsequent interviews and;
      3. If time permits, the NCSBI interviews the victim, if available.
   6. Written statements and BWC footage are required for the department’s administrative services commander, but may not be required by the NCSBI.
   7. The administrative services commander conducts their interview(s) at a later time, after the NCSBI/CID has initiated their interviews.
   8. It is imperative that the CID supervisor and the responding NCSBI agent(s) maintain open lines of communication. They meet as soon as possible at the Public Safety Building to prioritize the investigation (i.e. is the critical incident the most important issue or is the crime that caused the critical incident the most important issue), and coordinate the investigative process.
2. CID’s objective in any officer-involved shooting, or incident involving an in-custody death or serious injury incident is to obtain all the facts, in order that the District Attorney can make a determination of criminal liability (if any) on the part of the officer(s) involved. After completing the investigation, the CID Supervisor submits a written investigative report, to the Chief of Police.
   1. The Chief of Police or the Chief’s designee forwards a copy of the completed investigative report to the District Attorney's Office, for review and a decision. The UNC-CH Police Department does not make conclusions or recommendations to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
   2. The administrative services commander submits a copy of the completed administrative review or investigation to the Chief of Police. The Orange County District Attorney's Office is prohibited from obtaining a copy of the administrative review or investigation, unless ordered by the court.

III. Psychological Follow-Up

1. Any officer(s) involved in a critical incident that requires them to discharge their weapon or in which their action(s) resulted in death or serious injury are required to participate in post-traumatic incident psychological services and be medically released before returning to full active duty status.
2. Any officer or employee, involved in any critical incident, is required to participate in post-traumatic incident psychological services through a pre-established provider outside of the University.

IV. Written Reports

1. The involved officer(s) must expeditiously prepare an Incident Report and Use of Force Report(s) unless the Chief of Police or the Chief’s designee, determines that mitigating circumstances exists, such as the officer is injured and is being treated at a healthcare facility, that would justify a delay.
2. If more than one officer is involved in a single incident, each officer is responsible for completing a Supplemental Investigation Report and Use of Force Report, unless the Chief of Police or the Chief’s designee, determines that mitigating circumstances exists, such as an officer(s) is injured and is being treated at a healthcare facility, that would justify a delay.
3. These reports are turned over to the CID supervisor. The submitting officer's supervisor ensures that a copy of the Incident Report, Supplemental Report(s), and the original Use of Force Reports are given to the records manager and copies submitted to the administrative services commander.
4. Reports associated with these cases are restricted. Access to this information is decided on a case by case basis, at the direction of the Chief of Police or the Chief’s designee. Request(s) are reviewed prior to sharing any information to make sure UNC-CH Police Department is acting within N.C.G.S. Chapter 132, Public Records Law.

V. UNC-CH Police Department Response

1. When the use of force (any type) or other incident results in the serious injury to or death of any person, the involved officer(s) must, at the direction of the Chief of Police or the Chief’s designee, be placed on administrative leave with pay pending an administrative review or Investigation of the incident. The officer(s) remain on administrative leave or on an administrative duty status until such time as determined by the Chief of Police or the Chief’s designee.
2. In all non-traffic incidents involving any officer(s) that results in the serious injury to or death of any person, the UNC-CH Police Department conducts an administrative and criminal investigation of the incident and the officer’s actions and request that the SBI conduct an independent investigation of the incident and the officer's actions.
3. Traffic collisions involving an officer that result in a death are investigated criminally and administratively without the assistance of the SBI.
4. To determine if departmental policies were followed, all reported use of force complaints are reviewed by the officer's chain of command. The administrative services commander may recommend policy changes or the need for remedial training to the Chief of Police based on the findings.
5. In cases of an officer-involved shooting or an incident involving an in-custody death or serious injury, the following actions will occur:
   1. The on-scene supervisor will immediately notify or ensure notification of the following Departmental personnel:
      1. SDO;
      2. CID;
      3. Chief of Police; and
      4. PIO.
   2. The administrative services commander and CID supervisor conduct concurrent investigations. CID supervisor looks at the totality of circumstances surrounding the entire incident, while the administrative services commander focuses on the actions of the officer(s) involved in relation to UNC-CH Police Departmental policy and procedures.
   3. The administrative services commander assess each incident to determine if it was consistent with departmental training and determines if additional training, if any, is needed.
   4. Following the conclusion of both the investigative and administrative investigations, each incident is reviewed by the Chief of Police or the Chief’s designee(s).
   5. At the direction of the Chief of Police or the Chief’s designee, the PIO coordinates with UNC-CH Communications and Media Relations, in providing all public information and public notifications regarding any incidents.

VI. Discipline

1. Any employee of the UNC-CH Police Department is subject to discipline, up to and including dismissal and/or prosecution, if it is determined that they committed:
   1. A violation of the law;
   2. A violation of UNC-CH Police Department policy or regulation;
   3. Poor judgment involving wanton disregard for public safety;
   4. Accidental discharge of a weapon due to carelessness or horseplay; or
   5. Misconduct, including drinking, unjustified display of authority, disregard of duty, use of official authority for personal advantage, or other clear misconduct that involves a firearm.
2. Any violations of UNC-CH Police Department policies and procedures, that are uncovered during the investigation of the incident are forwarded to the Chief of Police. Discipline resulting from the findings of the investigation are handled in accordance with the UNC-CH Office of Human Resources policies.

VII. Annual Analysis

Reports documenting the discharge of firearms are reviewed annually by the Chief of Police, due to CALEA standard 4.2.4.

VIII. Training

1. Personnel potentially effected by an incident involving serious injury to or the death of any person resulting from an officer’s actions, must attend awareness training.
2. The CID Supervisor must attend training on the investigation of incidents involving the use of lethal and less lethal force by officers.
3. The administrative services commander must attend training on conducting administrative reviews and internal affairs investigations, if they have not had training, prior to being assigned to the administrative services commander position.