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D.C. Municipal Regulations (Last Updated: September 13, 2017) |
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Title 6. PERSONNEL |
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SubTilte 6-A. POLICE PERSONNEL |
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Chapter 6-A21. THE CITIZEN COMPLAINT REVIEW BOARD AND THE OFFICE OF CITIZEN COMPLAINT REVIEW |
Section 6-A2199. DEFINITIONS
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2199.1Whenever used in these regulations, unless plainly evident from the context that a different meaning is intended, the following terms are defined as follows:
Board- The Citizen Complaint Review Board, which consists of five members appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Council of the District of Columbia.
Chief of Police- The Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department or the covered law enforcement agency.
Complainant- The person filing a complaint with the Office who alleges that he or she is a victim of, the guardian, parent or personal representative of, or has personal knowledge of alleged abuse or misuse of police powers by a sworn member of the Metropolitan Police Department or an officer of a covered law enforcement agency.
Complaint- An allegation of misconduct made by a person against a sworn officer who was either on-duty at the time of the incident or who, while off-duty, was acting under the "color of law" during an incident occurring within the District of Columbia.
Complaint Examiner- The person designated by the Executive Director to determine the merits of a complaint.
Conciliation- A process whereby the Executive Director or his designated representative meets with the complainant(s) and the subject officer(s) and attempts to settle the allegations in a mutually satisfactory manner.
Covered Law Enforcement Agency- 1) the District of Columbia Housing Authority Police Department; or 2) any law enforcement agency that, pursuant to the Act, has a cooperative agreement with the MPD that requires coverage by the Office; provided that the chiefs of the respective law enforcement department or agency shall perform the duties of the MPD Chief of Police for the members of their departments or agencies.
Day- In computing any period of time prescribed or allowed by the Act or these regulations, the day of the act or event from which the designated period of time begins to run shall not be included. The last day of the period so computed shall be included, unless it is a Saturday, a Sunday, or a legal holiday, in which event the period runs until the end of the next day which is not one of the aforementioned days. When the period of time prescribed or allowed is less than 11 days, intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays shall be excluded in the computation.
Discriminatory treatment- Conduct by a member of the MPD or an officer of a covered law enforcement agency that results in the disparate treatment of persons because of their race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, family responsibilities, physical handicap, matriculation, political affiliation, source of income, place of residence or business or any other ground of discrimination prohibited under the statutory and the common law of the District of Columbia.
Evidentiary hearing- A proceeding overseen by a complaint examiner at which testimony and other evidence is presented in order to determine the merits of a complaint.
Excessive or Unnecessary Force- Unreasonable use of power, violence, or pressure under the particular circumstances. Factors to be considered when determining the "reasonableness" of a use of force include the following: 1) the severity of the crime at issue; 2) whether the suspect posed an immediate threat to the safety of officer or others; 3) whether the subject was actively resisting arrest or attempting to evade arrest by flight; 4) the fact that officers are often required to make split second decisions regarding the use of force in a particular circumstance; 5) whether the officer adhered to the general orders, policies, procedures, practices and training of the MPD or the covered law enforcement agency; and 6) the extent to which the officer attempted to use only the minimum level of force necessary to accomplish the objective.
Executive Director- An active member in good standing of the District of Columbia Bar who is appointed to a three-year term by the Board to head the Office.
Harassment- Words, conduct, gestures or other actions directed at a person that are purposefully, knowingly or recklessly in violation of the law or internal guidelines of the MPD or the covered law enforcement agency, so as to (1) subject the person to arrest, detention, search, seizure, mistreatment, dispossession, assessment, lien or other infringement of personal or property rights; or (2) deny or impede the person in the exercise or enjoyment of any right, privilege, power or immunity. In determining whether conduct constitutes harassment, the Office will look to the totality of the circumstances surrounding the alleged incident, including, where appropriate, whether the officer adhered to applicable orders, policies, procedures, practices and training of the MPD or the covered law enforcement agency, the frequency of the alleged conduct, its severity, and whether it is physically threatening or humiliating.
Mediation- An informal dispute resolution process, facilitated by a neutral third party, whereby the complainant and the subject officer meet in good faith to discuss the alleged misconduct with the goal of arriving at a mutually acceptable resolution of the complaint.
Mediator- A neutral third party who has contracted with the Office to attempt to mediate disputes between complainants and subject officers.
Misconduct- Abuse or misuse of police power by a sworn officer directed toward any person who is not a sworn officer, including: (1) harassment; (2) use of unnecessary or excessive force; (3) use of language or conduct that is insulting, demeaning or humiliating; (4) discriminatory treatment; and (5) retaliation.
MPD- The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia.
Office- The Office of Citizen Complaint Review.
Personal Knowledge- Direct knowledge of the incident from which the allegations arose, as the victim of or witness to the alleged misconduct.
Preponderance of Evidence- Evidence which is of greater weight or more convincing than the evidence which is offered in opposition to it.
Retaliation- Action that discriminates against a person for making or attempting to make a complaint pursuant to the Act, including action taken against a person because he or she has opposed any practice made unlawful by this Act or because he or she has made a complaint or expressed an intention to file a complaint, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, mediation, conciliation, complaint examination or other proceeding under this Act.
Review Panel- A panel of three complaint examiners, appointed by the Executive Director that reviews and determines the merits of allegations in the complaint that the Chief of Police determines is not supported by the evidence.
Subject Officer- A sworn member of the MPD or a covered law enforcement agency against whom an allegation of misconduct has been made in a complaint.