DGO8.11 "Investigation of Officer Involved Shootings and Discharges"

This order outlines the rules and procedures to be followed in the conduct of all officer-involved shooting and discharge investigations.

I. POLICY

It is the policy of the San Francisco Police Department to respond immediately and conduct a timely and complete investigation of all officer-involved shootings.

II. PROCEDURES

A. DEFINITIONS: 

• Officer-involved shooting. An officer's discharge of a firearm that results in the physical injury or death of a person, even if it is an accidental discharge.
• Officer-involved discharge. An officer's discharge of a firearm that does not cause injury or death to a person. Shooting at, injuring, or killing animals also falls into this category, including accidental discharge without injury.

B. INVESTIGATION PROTOCOL: Officer-involved shootings that result in injury or death are investigated in two distinctly separate venues:

1. Criminal Investigations. Investigations to determine if there was criminal conduct on the part of the involved officer(s) are conducted separately by the Homicide Detail and the Office of the District Attorney.

   Officer-involved shootings occurring on Sun Francisco International Airport property or in Sun Mateo County shall be investigated by the San Mateo County Sheriff Office in conjunction with the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office.

2. Administrative Investigation. Investigations to determine if the officer-involved shooting was within Department policy are conducted separately by the Management Control Division and by the Office of Citizen Complaints if and when initiated by a citizen complaint.

   If the officer-involved shooting occurs on Sun Francisco International Airport property or on its surrounding areas, the Management Control Division shall contact the Sun Mateo County Sherifs investigators and the Sun Mateo County District Attorney's Office investigators responsible for the criminal investigation and request copies of any have made that are relevant to the officer-involved shooting.

C. OFFICER-INVOLVED SHOOTINGS OCCURRING WITHIN THE CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO. As soon as practical after an officer-involved shooting occurring within the City and County of San Francisco, the following notifications shall be made:

1. If practical, the member(s) involved shall notify Emergency Communications Division (ECD), and his/her immediate supervisor, or the platoon commander of the district in which the shooting took place.
2. ECD shall immediately notify the Field Operations Bureau Headquarters (Operations Center after normal business hours).
   1. The Field Operations Bureau or the Operations Center shall make the following notifications:
      The on-call Homicide Inspectors
   2. The Crisis Incident Response Team (See DGO 8.04, Crisis Incident Response Team)
   3. Management Control Division
   4. District Attorney's Office
   5. The Commanding Officer of the member(s) involved
   6. Chair of the Firearm Discharge Review Board
   7. Office of Citizen Complaints
   8. San Francisco Police Department Command Staff
   9. Legal Division
   10. Captain of Risk Management
   11. Secretary of the Police Commission

D. OFFICER INVOLVED DISCHARGES. In cases where injury or death has not occurred, the Commanding Officer of the member involved is responsible for conducting a thorough shooting investigation, including accidental discharges. The Commanding 0fficer.may delegate this investigation to another Commissioned Officer. The Commanding Officer, however, shall be responsible for the proper conduct of the investigation, and the appropriate findings and recommendation as documented in an investigative summary. The Commanding Officer's Bureau Chief shall set an appropriate due date for this investigation. However, this investigation shall not exceed 45 days. Officer involved discharges require the following notifications:

1. If practical, the member(s) involved shall contact the platoon commander of the district in which the discharge occurred.
2. The platoon commander shall contact the officer's Commanding Officer.
3. If outside San Francisco, as soon as practical, the officer shall contact that jurisdiction's Police or Sheriff's Department requesting that entity contact the San Francisco Police Department.
4. An officer who discharges a firearm in an Officer-Involved Discharge shall be assigned to his or her respective Bureau Headquarters. The officer shall not return to regular assignment for a minimum of 5 days or unless, upon recommendation of the member's Commanding Officer with the approval of his or her respective Bureau Chief, the Chief of Police determines the member may return to his/her assignment.

E. OFFICER-INVOLVED SHOOTINGS OR DISCHARGES OCCURRING OUTSIDE THE CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO. If a member discharges a firearm outside the City and County of San Francisco (except at an approved range or during lawful recreational activities) either while on duty or off duty, he/she shall follow these procedures:

1. Absent exigent circumstances, remain at the scene of the discharge and notify the law enforcement agency.
2. Immediately contact the on duty supervisor in your unit or detail.
3. As soon as practical, the member shall contact the senior ranking member on duty in the Bureau to which he/she is assigned, or the Operations Center after normal business hours, and report the incident. The senior-ranking member in the Bureau who is notified or the staff at the Operations Center shall notify the on-duty supervisor of the involved member. If the member's unit is closed, the notification shall be made to the Commanding Officer or Officer-in-Charge.

F. SCENE. The member who has discharged his/her weapon in an officer involved shooting should limit his/her investigation and activity to the following:

1. When officer safety permits: de-cock, holster, and strap in his/her firearm. He/she should not reload the weapon, or remove the magazine to examine its contents. Thereafter, he/she should not remove the weapon from the holster until directed to do so by the Homicide Detail. In cases involving shotguns and/or long rifles the weapon shall be placed on "safe" and isolated in a secure location.
   1. Nothing in this order shall preclude a member from taking reasonable actions to provide/ensure officer and/or public safety.
2. As soon as practical, seek medical assistance1 treatment for injured persons.
3. As soon as practical, protect the crime scene and preserve all evidence. Prior to the arrival of the homicide detail investigators as provided under II.F.5., no person(s) should be permitted to enter the scene except to perform emergency medical assistance or assist in the preservation of the scene and evidence contained therein.
4. As soon as practical, attempt to obtain the name and address of any witness who may not remain at the scene.
5. When an officer-involved shooting occurs within the City and County of San Francisco, the crime scene(s) shall be under the control of the Homicide Detail upon the arrival of their investigators. No persons shall be permitted to enter the crime scene without the approval of the Homicide Inspector assigned the investigation or the Homicide OIC.
6. Nothing in this order shall prohibit a member from taking reasonable actions to ensure his
7. her safety or the safety of another person.

G. INVOLVED OFFICERS. The following actions will be taken in all cases of officer-involved shootings (resulting in injury or death):

1. All members shall be afforded all substantive and procedural rights and remedies as provided by applicable law, including without limitation thereto the Public Safety Officers' Bill of Rights.
2. When a supervisor arrives on the scene, the supervisor shall have the involved member(s) escorted from the scene. If more than one member is involved in the discharging of a firearm, absent exigent circumstances, the members shall be separated and will be kept separate from one another, and shall not discuss the incident with each other prior to being interviewed by the Homicide Detail Inspectors. If possible, the supervisor shall contact the investigator from the Homicide Detail and ascertain if the involved member is to be taken to the Homicide Detail, the Investigations Bureau, or the involved member's Station or Detail. In all circumstances the member shall be taken to a department facility.
3. Members of the department's C.I.R.T. program may assist the member(s) involved prior to their interview with investigators. However, they shall not discuss the facts or details of the shooting with the member.

4. Officers who discharge a firearm in an officer-involved shooting will be reassigned to his or her respective Bureau Headquarters. Officers shall not return to regular assignment for a minimum of 10 calendar days. This reassignment is administrative only and in no way shall be considered punitive. 

   Within 5 business days of an officer-involved shooting, the Chief of Police shall convene a panel to discuss whether it is appropriate for the involved member to return to duty. The Panel shall include a representative of the Behavioral Science Unit, the officer-in-charge of the Homicide Detail, the Deputy Chief, Commander, and Captain overseeing the involved officer's unit, the officer-in-charge of the Management Control Division, the Deputy Chief of Investigations and officer-in-charge of Risk Management. 

   The Chief, after consulting with the panel shall determine if the member should be returned to their regular field assignment, but only after completion of any mandatory debriefing (per DGO 8.04, Section 1.A), and any recommended retraining. This decision, including the factors supporting the decision, shall be contained in a written report that shall be forwarded immediately to the Police Commission. A copy of the report shall also be forwarded to the Director of the OCC. This report will be part of the officer's confidential personnel file and shall not be disclosed to any member of the public except by court order. The Police Commission shall, at the first Commission meeting following receipt of the report, meet in closed session with the Chief of Police to review the Chief's findings and decision. Officers shall not be returned to their regular duty until the Commission has met in closed session with the Chief of Police.

   Any determination by the Chief not to return an officer to their regular assignment and to continue their reassignment is administrative only and in no way shall be considered punitive.

5. The officer shall receive a debriefing by the Crisis Incident Response Team and support as outlined in Section C., of Department General Order 8.04.

H. INVESTIGATIONS

1. Officer-involved shootings. The Homicide Detail and the Management Control Division shall respond immediately and conduct a timely investigation into every officer-involved shooting. These investigations shall utilize the same numbering system, and be consistent with each other, e.g., 03-01 (first O.I.S. of 2003), 03-02 (second O.I.S. of 2003) etc.
2. Officer-involved discharges. The Commanding Officer of the member involved shall contact the Management Control Division and obtain an O.I.D. number. The report prepared by the Commanding Officer of the member involved shall reflect the M.C.D. issued O.I.D. number. The final report submitted shall be routed through channels, to the Management Control Division for evaluation prior to review by the Chief of Police.

I. REVIEW OF INVESTIGATIONS

1. Officer-involved shootings.
   1. Homicide Detail Investigation. The criminal investigation prepared by the Homicide Detail shall be completed and received by the Chair of the Firearm Discharge Review Board within forty-five-calendar days of the shooting event. If the criminal investigation report is not completed within forty-five calendar days of the shooting event, the Officer-in-charge of the Homicide Detail shall appear before the Commission at the earliest possible meeting to explain why the report has not been completed.
   2. Management Control Division Investigation. The administrative investigation prepared by the Management Control Division shall be completed and submitted to the Chair of the Firearm Discharge Review Board within sixty-calendar days of the shooting event. If the administrative investigation report is not completed within sixty-calendar days of the shooting event, the Officer-in-charge of the Management Control Division shall appear before the Commission at the earliest possible meeting to explain why the report has not been completed.
   3. The Firearm Discharge Review Board shall convene within thirty calendar days of receipt of the Management Control Division investigation report. Within 120 calendar days following the first meeting of the Firearm Discharge Review Board, the panel shall complete its investigation and issue its findings in accordance with Department General Order 3.10. If the Firearm Discharge Review Board report is not completed within the required 120 calendar days, a representative of the Firearms Discharge Review Board shall appear before the Commission at the earliest possible meeting to explain why the report has not been completed.