Policy Text
Sacramento Police Department
Critical Incident Management Response Manual
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LINE OF DUTY DEATH OR INJURY POLICY
I. PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to provide direction for the Sacramento Police Department
to provide appropriate emotional care for the seriously injured, ill or deceased
employee’s family.
Although the policy is intended to address the line -of-duty death or injury of police
officers, many provisions, including death notification and family assistance, may be
applicable to any agency employee regardless of whether or not the death is duty related.
II. POLICY
It shall be the responsibility of the Sacramento Police Depa rtment to provide liaison
assistance to the primary family of an officer who dies in the line -of-duty or who is
hospitalized for an indefinite period of time or requires repeated and/or intermittent
hospitalization because of a line -of-duty injury or syste matic illness incurred while on
duty. This assistance shall include, but is not limited to, the clarification and
comprehensive study of survivor benefits and emotional support during this traumatic
period for the surviving family.
III. DEFINITIONS
A. Line-of-duty Death : Any action, felonious or accidental, which claims the life of
a Sacramento Police Officer who is performing work related functions either
while on or off -duty.
B. Line-of-duty Injury or Illness : For the purposes of this policy, a line-of-duty
injury or illness shall be an injury or systemic illness serious enough that
hospitalization or time away from the department is ordered by a physician for an
indefinite period.
C. Survivors: Primary family members of the injured or dece ased officer, including
spouse, children, grandchildren, parents , grandparents, siblings, fiancé, and/or
significant others and domestic partners.
D. Beneficiary: Those designated by the officer as recipients of specific death
benefits.
E. Benefits : Financial payments made to the family to assist with financial stability
following the loss of a loved one.
F. Funeral Payments : Financial payments made to the surviving families of an
officer killed in the line -of-duty which are specifically earmark ed for funeral
expenses.
IV. PROCEDURES
A. Officer in Charge (OIC)
1. In order to prevent duplication of efforts, maintain order, and ensure that the
process works for the benefit of the officer or his or her f amily, the OIC shall
oversee all departm ental functions regarding the incident. Wh en possible, the
OIC shall be the Captain of the Personnel Servi ces Division (PSD) or the Captain
in the Office of the Chief (OOC). The lieutenant or desi gnee s of the PSD shall b e
assigned if a captain is not available.
2. The OIC shall make assignments of tasks and responsibilities to department
personnel, including the Employee Services Unit (Peer Support). Those persons
shall report the status of their tasks to the OIC. Department personnel shall not
perform incident related tasks withou t the approval of the OIC unless exigent
circumstances exist.
3. Personnel appointed to the position of OIC shall be thoroughly familiar with the
concept and procedures of the Employee Services Unit / Peer Support Un it and
other internal and/or external organizations involved in the process.
4. In the event the officer has multiple families and/or an adversarial relationship
exists between the families, the OIC may assign a separate liaison for each family.
B. Death or Life Threatening Injury Notification - Family
1. The notification plan will be formulated using the most recent confidential Line -
of-Duty Death or Injury information provided by the officer.
2. If there is knowledge of a medical condition with the primary survivor, medical
personnel will be dispatched for standby near the residence to coincide with the
notification along with the notifying personnel.
3. Notification will always be made by two or more persons. The Chief of Police,
his represent ative, and/or pre -selected persons of th e officer’s choice will notify
the family if time to assemble these persons exists. It is recommended that a Peer
Support team member be either part of the notification team or readily available
to assist the notifi cation employees and/or family members. Delays in developing
the appropriate notification team must be weighed against the importance of the
timely notification of the primary family.
Notification shall be done in person, in a timely manner, in pairs w hen possible,
in plain language and with compassion.
a. The Chief of Police (or designee) will form the lead notification detail.
b. The following persons may be included in the notification detail (no
more than three managers ):
1) Chief of Polic e (or his designee)
2) Management
a. Deputy Chief
b. Area Captain
c. Other Captain
5) Employee Services Unit or designated Peer Support Member
6) Other: SPOA, Another Officer, Friend
**See Injured Officer Checklist**
7) Chaplaincy
c. If the above suggested persons are not readily accessible, noti fication can
be made (with approval of a Deputy Chief or Chief of Police) by the Area
Captain or Watch Commander. The opportun ity to get the family to the
hospital prior to the demise of the of ficer is significantly more important
than who delivers the notification.
d. If the family wishes to go to the hospital, they may be transport ed via
Department vehicle. It is highly recommended the family not drive
themselves to the hospital.
e. It the primary survivors are