Policy Text
Page 1 of 5 7/04 (REV 10/17)
GENERAL ORDER
Notification Requirements
The purpose of this general order is to prescribe notification requirements for incidents
resulting in injuries and/or deaths to department employees as well as other major
incidents. Service areas and di visions may establish additiona l requirements for areas
under their control. RELATED GENERAL ORDERS : General Order 11/09 outli nes responsib ilities and
protocol to follow in the even t of the death of an employee. G eneral orders 2/06 and
2/07 outline other res ponsibilities associ ated with shooting in cidents.
I. Notification Conditions
These notification requirement s are applicable to the following conditions:
A. Shooting Incidents
B. Non-Shooting incidents that include:
1. Death or potentially life thr eatening or disabling injury to department
employee.
2. Major/serious on-duty vehicl e accidents or off-duty when dri ving a
county vehicle.
3. Death of in-custody prisoner or inmate
4. Major incidents such as:
a. A potential or actual disaster
b. Any enforcement action requi ring a large number of officers
c. The arrest of well-known public figure or celebrity
d. Any other situation likely to attract wide media interest
e. Pursuits ending in injury or death to non- department
personnel
f. Arrest of department employee
II. Notification Procedure
Notification to personnel identif ied in this order shall be mad e in the following
manner:
A. The Communications Sergean t shall activate the group page to the
appropriate list of personnel fo r each notification type, as an initial method
of notification.
Page 2 of 5 7/04 (REV 10/17) B. Additionally, the Communicati ons Sergeant shall ensure all p ersonnel
identified in the applicable sec tion of this order, up to and i ncluding the
sheriff, are personally notifi ed at the earliest opportunity.
C. The Communications Sergeant s hall ensure that the related ev ent is
updated to include the results o f the notification attempts.
III. Shooting Incident Policy
Any Sheriff’s Department employ ee who discharges a firearm (exc ept on the
range or while engaged in a spor ting activity) or is fired upon , while on duty or off
duty, shall immediately notify his/her on-duty supervisor if th ey are on duty, or the
Communications Sergeant (S1 ) if they are off duty.
Any supervisor receiving such not ification shall immediately no tify the on-duty
Communications Sergeant (S1).
IV. Shooting Incident Notifications
The on-duty Communications Sergean t (S1) must ensure the follow ing
individuals are notified for the specific type of incident.
A. Injury or Death
1. On-duty Patrol Watch commander
2. Homicide Detail Supervisor 3. Media Information Officer 4. Internal Affairs Comm ander or Assistant Commander
5. Crime Scene Investigators and video team 6. Employee’s Division Commander 7. Sheriff 8. Undersheriff 9. Chief Deputy of applicable se rvice area who shall contact (a t
his/her discretion)
a. Other Chief Deputies
10. Representative of th e appropriate labor union
11. Employee Relations Officer 12. Law Enforcement Chaplain/Peer Support 13. On-duty or on-call Distri ct Attorney Investigator
14. County Risk Manager 15. Department Rangemaster 16. Inspector General
B. Non-Injury
1. On-duty Patrol Watch commander
2. Homicide Detail Supervisor 3. Internal Affairs Comm ander or Assistant Commander
4. Crime Scene Investigators and video team 5. Employee’s Division Commander
Page 3 of 5 7/04 (REV 10/17) 6. Chief Deputy of applicable se rvice area who shall contact (a t
his/her discretion)
a. Sheriff b. Undersheriff c. Other Chief Deputies
7. Representative of th e appropriate labor union
8. Commander of Special Operati ons Division (if a reserve deput y
sheriff was involved)
9. Rangemaster 10. Inspector General For incidents outside county juri sdiction, the law enforcement agency with
jurisdiction must be notified.
V. Family Member Notification
Once a Watch Commander is made aw are an employee has suffered a serious
injury, the Watch Commander must ensure family members are prop erly notified
as soon as possible. See Gener al Order 11/09 Employee Death No tifications.
VI. Non-Shooting Incident Notifications
A. Death or Potentially Life-Th reatening or Disabling Injury to Department
Employee:
When any department employee is notified that another employee has
suffered a serious injury, and t hat information is not widely k nown within
the department, that employee sha ll make the initial notificati on to the on-
duty Communications Sergeant (S1).
The on-duty Communications Sergean t (S1) must ensure the follow ing
individuals are notified about the incident:
1. Employee’s Division Commander
2. Media Information Officer 3. Sheriff 4. Undersheriff 5. Chief Deputy of applicable se rvice area who shall contact (a t
his/her discretion) a. Other chief Deputies
6. Representative of the appropriate labor union
7. Commander of Special Operati ons Division (if a reserve deput y
sheriff was involved)
8. Employee Relations Officer 9. Law Enforcement Chaplain 10. County Risk Manager
Page 4 of 5 7/04 (REV 10/17) B