Policy Text
San Francisco Police Department 8.1 1
GENERAL ORDER 0912 1/05
INVESTIGATION OF OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTINGS AN11
DISCHARGES
This order outlines the rules and procedures to be followed in the conduct of all
officer-involved shooting and discharge investigations.
I. POLICY
It is the policy of the San Francisco Police Department to respond immediately
and conduct a timely and coniplete investigation of all officer-involved
shootings.
11. PROCEDURES
A. DEFINITIONS:
Officer-involved shooting. An officer's discharge of a firearm that
results in the physical injury or death of a person, even if it is an
accidental discharge.
Officer-involved discharge. An officer's discharge of a firearm that does
not cause injury or death to a person. Shooting at, injuring, or killing
animals also falls into this category, including accidental discharge
without injury.
B. INVESTIGATION PROTOCOL: Officer-involved shootings that result in
injury or death are investigated in two distinctly separate venues:
1. Criminal Investigations. Investigations to determine if there was
criminal conduct on the part of the involved officer(s) are conducted
separately by the Homicide Detail and the Office of the District
Attorney.
Officer-involved shootings occurring on Sun Francisco International
Airport property or in Sun Mateo County shall be investigated by the
San Mateo County Sheriff Of$ce in conjunction with the San Mateo
County District Attorney's Office.
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2. Administrative Investigation. Investigations to determine if the officer-
involved shooting was within Department policy are conducted
separately by the Management Control Division and by the Office of
Citizen Complaints if and when initiated by a citizen complaint.
If the oflcer-involved shooting occurs on Sun Francisco International
Airport property or on its surrounding areas, the Management Control
Division shall contact the Sun Mateo County Sherifs investigators and
the Sun Mateo County District Attorney's Office investigators
responsible for the criminal investigation and request copies of any
reports those agencies have made that are relevant to the officer-
involved shooting.
C. OFFICER-INVOLVED SHOOTINGS OCCURRING WITHIN THE
CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO. As soon as practical
after an officer-involved shooting occurring within the City and County
of San Francisco, the following notifications shall be made:
1. If practical, the member(s) involved shall notify Emergency
Communications Division (ECD), and hislher immediate supervisor, or
the platoon commander of the district in which the shooting took place.
2. ECD shall immediately notify the Field Operations Bureau
Headquarters (Operations Center after normal business hours).
3. The Field Operations Bureau or the Operations Center shall make the
following notifications:
a. The on-call Homicide Inspectors
b. The Crisis Incident Response Team (See DGO 8.04, Crisis Incident
Response Team)
c. Management Control Division
d. District Attorney's Office
e. The Commanding Officer of the member(s) involved
f. Chair of the Firearm Discharge Review Board
g. Office of Citizen Complaints
h. San Francisco Police Department Command Staff
i. Legal Division
j . Captain of Risk Management
k. Secretary of the Police Commission
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D. OFFICER INVOLVED DISCHARGES. In cases where injury or death
has not occurred, the Commanding Officer of the member involved is
responsible for conducting a thorough shooting investigation, including
accidental discharges. The Commanding 0fficer.may delegate this
investigation to another Commissioned Officer. The Commanding Officer,
however, shall be responsible for the proper conduct of the investigation, and
the appropriate findings and recommendation as documented in an
investigative summary. The Commanding Officer's Bureau Chief shall set
an appropriate due date for this investigation. However, this investigation
shall not exceed 45 days. Officer involved discharges require the following
notifications:
1. If practical, the member(s) involved shall contact the platoon commander
of the district in which the discharge occurred.
2. The platoon commander shall contact the officer's Commanding Officer.
3. If outside San Francisco, as soon as practical, the officer shall contact that
jurisdiction's Police or Sheriff's Department requesting that entity contact
the San Francisco Police Department.
4. An officer who discharges a firearm in an Officer-Involved Discharge
shall be assigned to his or her respective Bureau Headquarters. The
officer shall not return to regular assignment for a minimum of 5 days or
unless, upon recommendation of the member's Commanding Officer with
the approval of his or her respective Bureau Chief, the Chief of Police
determines the member may return to hidher assignment.
E. OFFICER-WOLVED SHOOTINGS OR DISCHARGES OCCURRING
OUTSIDE THE CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO. If a
member discharges a firearm outside the City and County of San Francisco
(except at an approved range or during lawful recreational activities) either
while on duty or off duty, helshe shall follow these procedures:
1. Absent exigent circumstances, remain at the scene of the discharge and
notify the law enforcement agency.
2. Immediately contact the on duty supervisor in your unit or detail.
3. As soon as practical, the member shall contact the senior ranking member
on duty in the Bureau to which helshe is assigned, or the Operations
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Center after normal business