Policy Text
Page 1 of 6 3/02 (REV 3/15)
Internal Affairs/Divisiona l Investigations Procedures:
Interrogations, Interviews, and Directed Reports
The purpose of this General Order is to establish policies and procedures for the
administrative investigat ions of Department personnel.
I. General
The provisions of Section II, “Interrogations”, apply only w hen all three of the
following conditions exist:
The officer or other member is under administrative investigat ion;
a n d
The officer or other member is subjected to an interrogation; and
That interrogation could lead to punitive action.
This Order shall not apply to any interrogation of Department p ersonnel in the
normal course of duty, counseling , instruction, or informal ver bal admonition
by, or other routine or unplanned contact with, a supervisor or any other public
safety officer, nor shall this s ection apply to an investigatio n concerned solely
and directly with alleged criminal activities.
II. Interrogations
Interrogations are applicable only to Department personnel unde r investigation
for allegations of misconduct, which if found to be true, could lead to punitive
or adverse action. Interrogat ions for purposes of this Order s hall be defined
as a direct order to an employee , either verbally or in writing , to respond,
either verbally or in writing , to questions or demands for info rmation regarding
allegations of misconduct against t he employee who is the subje ct of an
administrative investigation.
A. Notice of Internal Affairs/Divisional Investigation
Department personnel subject to i nterrogation shall, prior to t he
commencement of the interrogation , be served in writing with a “Notice
of Investigation” (Attachment A ), setting forth the basic facts regarding
any alleged misconduct that forms the basis for the interrogati on.
Included within this written notic e shall be the advisement tha t the
Page 2 of 6 3/02 (REV 3/15) individual ordered to submit to i nterrogation has the right to have a
representative present during all phases of the interrogation.
Under exigent circumstances, per sonnel may be verbally ordered to
report to receive said written “N otice of Interrogation” subjec t to
contractual agreements regarding overtime co mpensation if said order
requires the individual subject ed to interrogation to report at a time
when they are not on duty.
B. Representation
1. It is the employee’s responsib ility to secure representation prior
to the date and time of the sc heduled interrogation. In cases of
an unplanned or emergency nat ure, Department personnel
shall be afforded a reasonabl e period of time to secure
representation. The time allotted is not to exceed four (4) hours. An unplanned emergency si tuation occurs when the
allegations or suspicions regardi ng an employee’s conduct are
of such serious nature as to requi re an immediate investigation .
NOTE: The collection of physical evidence including, but not
limited to, blood, breath, uri ne, and other physical (non-
testimonial) evidence, is not an “interrogation” within the
meaning of this policy.
2. Providing reasonable notice has been given the employee, the
absence or unavailability of a par ticular individual to serve a s
an employee’s represent ative shall not be gr ounds to impede or
delay an investigation.
C. Confidentiality
Internal Affairs/Divisional Inve stigations are confidential, un less
otherwise required for processi ng personnel actions or by opera tion of
law. This prohibition against disclosure shall not apply to conversations or interaction bet ween Internal Affairs/Divisiona l
Investigations personnel and t he superiors they report to conce rning
the particular investigation, between Department personnel orde red to
respond to questions and their r epresentatives, or to limited d isclosure
to or by management as appr oved by the Sheriff.
D. Review of Reports
Prior to the commencement of the interrogation, the employee sh all be
given an opportunity to review t he initial complaint as receive d by the
Department.
Page 3 of 6 3/02 (REV 3/15) E. Administrative Admonishment
Prior to any interrogation, the individual being interrogated s hall be
given a copy of the Sheriff’s Department’s “Administrative
Admonishment Form” (Attachmen t B) and afforded an opportunity t o
ask questions regarding such adm onishment. Members of the
Sheriff’s Department who are witnesses do not receive such
admonishment.
F. Audio Recording
Interrogations conducted by Inter nal Affairs shall be audio rec orded by
the assigned investigator. The recorded interviews of the comp laining
party, the suspect officer or mem ber, and critical witnesses sh all be
transcribed. Recorded statements from additional witnesses may be
transcribed at the di scretion of the assigned investigator, sub ject to the
approval of the Internal Affairs Commander. Further transcript ion may
be directed by the Internal Affa irs Commander upon outside requ est.
In lieu of the transcribing requi rement, an audio CD of each in terview
with a summary may be substituted.
Personnel subjected to interrogat ion may audio record any and a ll
interrogations. Such recordings s hall be done with the knowled ge of
all participants present.
G. Advisement of Constitutional R ights (Lybarger Warning (Attac hment
C))
At any time prior to or during the