59868707.pdf

\n\n--- Page 1 ---\n\nGAINESVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT GENERAL ORDER TITLE ACCREDITATION Transportation of Prisoner/ Detainee CALEA: 70.1.1; 70.1.2; 70.1.6(a-e); 70.1.7(a-c); 70.1.8; 70.2.1; 70.4.2 PRIOR REVISIONS PROPONENT UNIT 04/21/06, 12/29/08, 03/24/14, District 1 and 2 Patrol Operations 12/18/19 ATTACHMENT: NUMBER ISSUE DATE REVISION DATE TOTAL PAGES 71.1 07/01/98 02/20/24 13 I. PURPOSE: This Order establishes guidelines, policies and procedures for transporting persons in custody. II. POLICY: Members of the Gainesville Police Department, in order to protect the public, themselves, and persons in their custody, shall employ proper and safe techniques, and shall follow the procedures outlined in this Order, when transporting citizens who are under arrest or in protective custody. III. DEFINITIONS: A. Detainee: Someone being held in custody or confinement (may be under physical restraint). B. Prisoner: Any person arrested and/or in custody of a law enforcement officer or agency. C. Receiving Facility: A receiving facility may include, but not limited to, the court house, other agency (Alachua County Sheriff’s Office), mental health facility, hospital, juvenile assessment center, etc. IV. PROCEDURE A. Transport Vehicles: [CALEA 70.4.2] 1. Barriers/Cages: Vehicles primarily used to transport prisoner/detainees shall be equipped with a barrier, which prevents persons in custody gaining access to the driver’s compartment. The barrier should allow cooling, heating, ventilation, and ease of conversation between the transporting officer and the prisoner/detainee. 2. Locks: To prevent or minimize escape, doors and windows in the rear compartment of police vehicles, which are routinely used to transport prisoners/detainees, shall be modified to prevent opening from the inside. 3. Seat Belts:\n\n--- Page 2 ---\n\nGAINESVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT i. Vehicles used to transport prisoner/detainee shall contain safety belt restraints. ii. Occupant safety restraints (lap and shoulder belts) shall be used on prisoner/detainees during transport, with the following exceptions: Members transporting prisoner/detainee behind a barrier (cage) may elect not to use the safety belts if the prisoner/detainee physically resisted arrest or resisted being placed in the vehicle. B. Vehicle Inspection: To locate weapons and contraband and to ensure safety devices are functional, transport vehicles shall be thoroughly inspected at the beginning of a member’s shift and searched prior to and after any transport of a prisoner/detainee. [CALEA 70.1.2] C. Searches: Prisoner/detainee’s shall be searched (for weapons, contraband, etc.) prior to being transported [CALEA 70.1.1]. Department members shall also refer to GO 1.4 Searches. 1. The transporting officer shall search the prisoner/detainee prior to transport even if the arresting officer already searched the prisoner/detainee. 2. Whenever possible, a prisoner shall be searched by an officer of the same gender. When an officer must search a prisoner of the opposite gender, he or she shall utilize the back of the hand around private areas, whenever possible. Transgender Arrestees- refer to GO 1.4 Searches. 3. When practical, the preferred method to conduct searches is in front of an in- car camera or body worn camera, if available. 3. Department members shall not conduct body cavity and/or strip searches. 4. Invasive Searches/Reach In: If an officer has articulable suspicion that a person in custody is in possession of a weapon, the officer shall seize the weapon immediately and document the occurrence. If a person in custody reports having contraband (other than a weapon) in their undergarments, the person in custody is to be brought to either the GPD sally port or the DOJ sally port. Prior to transport, the Member shall notify a supervisor. Once there, the Member can remove said contraband. The seizure shall be in front of some type of video recording device (ie. In-car camera, body worn camera. The Member shall document the supervisor notification and circumstances of the search and seizure in the report. When facts indicate a prisoner/detainee has placed an object or substance in his/her mouth, a member may check the prisoner/detainee’s mouth for contraband to avoid a serious health risk to the prisoner/detainee or loss of evidence. The Member should never place their fingers into the person in custody’s mouth to retrieve contraband. 2\n\n--- Page 3 ---\n\nGAINESVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT 5. Members may remove a prisoner/detainee from a hazardous location (e.g. hostile crowd, riot situation) in order to safely search the prisoner/detainee prior to transport. 6. Members shall document, in the narrative, the prisoner/detainee was searched, by whom, and any results. D. Restraints: Unless exigent circumstances exist (e.g., the prisoner/detainee is handicapped or disabled), prisoner/detainee’s being transported shall be restrained using Department-approved devices.[CALEA 70.2.1] 1. Approved restraining devices are: i. Standard handcuffs, ii. Flex cuffs, iii. Ripp-Hobble restraint, iv. Leg-cuffs 2. The transporting member shall normally use standard handcuffs secured behind a person’s back and double-locked. i. Officers may use approved alternative restraining devices in addition to, or instead of, standard handcuffs, when the situation dictates, and their use does not pose an escape risk or a risk to the safety of the members and/or the prisoner/detainee. ii. Members shall articulate his/her reasons for deviation from the handcuff requirement (size of the prisoner/detainee, physical disability, etc.) and shall be responsible for the decision. iii. To prevent positional asphyxiation (i.e., suffocation due to physical position or pressure on the respiratory system), members shall not place persons in custody (or allow them to be placed) in a prone or supine position while transporting. iv. Members shall not control prisoner/detainee by connecting their wrists and ankles together behind their back with restraints (commonly termed ’hog-tie’). E. Control: 1. Seating: i. Vehicles with Barrier Present: The prisoner/detainee shall occupy the rear seat. 3\n\n--- Page 4 ---\n\nGAINESVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT ii. Vehicles with No Barrier: Only one prisoner/detainee shall be transported in a vehicle, which does not have a protective/safety barrier. a. One member transporting: The prisoner/detainee shall occupy the right front seat, properly restrained, with all vehicle safety devices fastened. b. Two members transporting: The prisoner/detainee shall occupy the front passenger seat and a second Department member shall occupy the rear seat behind prisoner/detainee. 2. Transporting Prisoner/Detainee’s: Usually, prisoner/detainees will be transported individually with the following exceptions: i. Prisoner/detainees who are charged in the same incident or in the same on-going scheme may be transported in the same vehicle, regardless of gender. ii. Depending on the availability of transport vehicles and operatives, prisoner/detainees of the same or opposite genders may be transported together when arrested during the same ‘detail’ or ‘sting’ / reverse sting operation. 3. Interrupting Transport: During prisoner/detainee transport, members should only perform law enforcement duties pertaining to the transportation of the prisoner/detainee, with the exception of an immediate, life-threatening situation. i. If diverted during transport regarding a life-threatening emergency, members shall do everything possible to ensure the safety and security of the prisoner/detainee during the incident. ii. If the transport officer observes a non-life threatening situation, he/she shall immediately notify Communications personnel so a response can be coordinated. 4. Visual Contact: Members shall not lose sight of prisoner/detainee’s during transportation (except as necessary when the member responds to a life- threatening situation). 5. Communication: Prisoner/detainee’s being