Policy Text
Page 1 of 5 3/10 (NEW 2/10)
Review of Civil Claims
When the Sheriff’s Department bec omes aware of an incident whic h gives rise to the
potential for civil liability due to the actions or inactions o f our employees, a civil claims
review shall be conducted. The D epartment may become aware in the form of a claim
presented to the County Board of Supervisors , a citizen complaint or it may be
brought to our attention by one of our own employees.
The Division Commander is respons ible for conducting an inquiry into the allegations in
each civil claim and pr oviding a response that sets forth the i nformation obtained in that
review, as well as identifying when an administrative or crimin al investigation of alleged
misconduct is warranted. I. Claim Review Requirements
A. All available information abou t the allegations made in the claim should be
gathered. The review shall be unbi ased, seeking to obtain all i nformation
whether supporting or undermining t he claim. The review should include:
1. Identifying, gathering, and pr eserving all pertinent written
documentation and supporting physical materials.
2. Interviewing claimant. If a cla imant is represented by couns el, do
not contact claimant directly. A request shall be made of couns el to
interview a claimant. If possible , any interview of a claimant shall be
audio recorded. If counsel or claimant declines to be interview ed,
such declination shall be noted.
3. Identifying and obtai ning statements fr om all Department
employees who were participants in, witnesses to, in the vicini ty of,
or had post-incident involvemen t with the events underlying the
claim.
NOTE: Although a claim review i s not an administrative
investigation, if a Department e mployee requests that he/she
be given the rights he is entit led to in an administrative
investigation, the employee’ s request shall be granted.
4. Identifying and interviewing any non-Department witnesses to the
events underlying the claim, bot h those identified in any under lying
paperwork, and those identified th rough the claim review, inclu ding
Page 2 of 5 3/10 (NEW 2/10) those the claimant identifie s. When appropriate, visiting and
photographing the location of the alleged incident.
B. When there is more than one involved Divi sion responding to a claim, the
primary Division designated by t he Professional Standards Divis ion shall
coordinate with the secondary Di visions to avoid duplicate effo rts. The
Divisions should arran ge a single interview of the claimant and of each
witness that covers all areas of necessary inquiry.
C. The Professional St andards Division Commander may indicate t hat a
different claim review procedure should be followed for certain types of
claims, including claims of pr operty damage, lost property, or over-
detention.
D. If the claim relates to an incident that has previously been reviewed
because of reported use of force, shooting, traffic collision, or
administrative investigation, t he claims review should be coord inated with
Internal Affairs Bureau investi gator who handled the previous r eview and
focus on any additional or diffe rent information or allegations provided by
the claim. The Claim R eview need not repeat any steps taken as part of
any prior investigation or revie w, unless additional or differe nt information
or allegations are found in the cl aim, that new information sha ll be
reviewed like any other claim.
II. Administrative/Criminal Investigations
A. If, at any time while reviewi ng the claim, the Division Comm ander
determines that discipline or c riminal prosecution may be an is sue
because of the nature and serious ness of the allegation(s) and /or the
concerned employee’s performanc e history, the Division Commande r shall
follow Department policy for in itiation of an appropriate admin istrative or
criminal investigation. When an adm inistrative or criminal inve stigation is
initiated, the Division Commander shall coordinate with the Pro fessional
Standards Division. As long as di scipline or criminal prosecuti on is not an
issue, the Division Commander sha ll perform the Claim Review.
III. Division Commander’s Claim Review Report
A. After conducting the Claim Rev iew, the Division Commander sh all direct a
memorandum to his Service Area Chief and complete any worksheet s
forwarded to the Profe ssional Standards Divis ion along with the claim. The
Division Commander’s mem orandum shall include:
1. All information obtained from t he review of the claim, inclu ding a list
of witnesses, any conflicting ve rsions of the facts, and each s ource
of information, as well as a de scription of the claim review
performed.
Page 3 of 5 3/10 (NEW 2/10) 2. All training, policies or pro cedures relating to the conduct alleged to
be wrongful, and any perceived i ssues or non-issues regarding t he
same.
3. Whether any adminis trative or criminal investigation is warr anted.
4. Identification of personnel i nvolved in the events underlyin g the
claim as either an involved empl oyee or as a supporting employe e.
(An “involved” employee is som eone who took part in the event,
while personnel who witness it or who were in the vicinity or h ad
post incident involvement are “support