go-59.pdf

\n\n--- Page 1 ---\n\nTALLAHASSEE POLICE DEPARTMENT GENERAL ORDERS SUBJECT Transporting and Booking Procedures CHIEF OF POLICE Signature on File Proudly Policing Since 1841 Nationally Accredited 1986 NUMBER ORIGINAL ISSUE CURRENT REVISION TOTAL PAGES 59 07/15/1985 07/25/2023 15 AUTHORITY/RELATED REFERENCES CIB-2, Bureau Security FS Chapter 901, Arrests General Order 6, Arrests and Alternatives to Arrest General Order 8, Baker Act General Order 11, Communicable Disease Control General Order 24, Marchman Act General Order 26, High-Risk Incidents General Order 46, Rules of Conduct General Order 72, Search and Seizure PTL-15, Prisoner Transport Unit PTL-16, Reports Special Order 10, Building Security and Evacuation ACCREDITATION REFERENCES CALEA Chapters 1, 70, 82 CFA Chapter 21 KEY WORD INDEX Arrest Documentation Procedure VIII Detention Facility Procedures Procedure VI Escaped Prisoners During Transport Procedure X Medical Treatment/Hospitalization Procedure IX Prisoners Brought to the Department Building Procedure VII Prisoners with Disabilities Procedure IV Restraint Devices/Handcuffing Protocols Procedure II Searching/Transporting Protocols Procedure III Sick/Injured Prisoners Procedure V Vehicle Design/Search Protocols Procedure I\n\n--- Page 2 ---\n\nTALLAHASSEE POLICE DEPARTMENT POLICY The Department is responsible for providing prisoner transportation and booking protocols, and officers shall adhere to established protocols when transporting and booking prisoners. DEFINITIONS Department-approved: Officer-owned equipment approved by the Chief of Police or designee which the officer may carry on duty, during secondary employment, or while off duty to take law enforcement action authorized by policy or Florida Statutes. Restraint Device: Department-issued or Department-approved equipment for lawfully securing a person in Department custody for the protection of the officer, the person, the public and property. Sudden In-custody Death Syndrome: A medical condition affecting persons exhibiting violent resistance who upon being secured with restraints sometimes experience compromising respiratory problems leading to death. PROCEDURES I. VEHICLE DESIGN/SEARCH PROTOCOLS A. Department vehicles designed for the transport of prisoners shall: 1. Be equipped with a safety barrier separating the driver and the prisoner, and 2. Have back seat/prisoner containment area modifications to minimize opportunities for exit without the aid of the transporting officer (e.g., door handles and window cranks removed). B. Officers assigned or operating a vehicle used for transporting prisoners shall thoroughly search the back seat/prisoner containment area of the vehicle: 1. At the beginning of each work shift, and 2. Prior to and after transporting any person. II. RESTRAINT DEVICES AND HANDCUFFING PROTOCOLS A. Department-approved restraint devices include: GENERAL ORDER 59 PAGE 2 of 15 TRANSPORTING AND BOOKING PROCEDURES JULY 25, 2023\n\n--- Page 3 ---\n\nTALLAHASSEE POLICE DEPARTMENT 1. Handcuffs, 2. Leg irons, 3. Linear leg restraints, and 4. Flex-cuffs. B. Officers shall handcuff all arrested persons and, when objectively reasonable, officers are authorized to utilize additional or other Department-approved restraint devices for the safety of the all persons involved in the situation. C. Officers shall adhere to Department training when handcuffing an arrested person, and are responsible for ensuring: 1. The person is handcuffed prior to conducting a search incident to arrest, 2. The person’s hands are placed behind their back and the handcuffs are double locked (unless circumstances otherwise prohibit), and 3. If feasible, the person’s hands are positioned with the palms facing outward. D. Due to issues surrounding Sudden In-custody Death Syndrome the use of a linear leg restraint (LLR) is limited to situations involving a combative person. E. In utilization of an LLR, officers are responsible for: 1. Only using the LLR as prescribed in Department training, 2. Ensuring an LLR is used only when other lesser means of securing a violent prisoner have failed, 3. If possible, securing the person in an upright position (i.e., with a vehicle seat belt) in the vehicle, 4. Monitoring the person for changes in behavior and/or medical distress and, if needed, providing prompt medical assistance to include, if warranted, summoning of EMS personnel, and 5. Notifying their supervisor as soon as practical of the LLR utilization. If GENERAL ORDER 59 PAGE 3 of 15 TRANSPORTING AND BOOKING PROCEDURES JULY 25, 2023\n\n--- Page 4 ---\n\nTALLAHASSEE POLICE DEPARTMENT the utilization of the LLR would cause the detainee to be in any position other than seated (i.e., laying on their stomach), the officer shall notify their supervisor immediately. III. SEARCHING AND TRANSPORTING PROTOCOLS A. Officers are responsible for the safety and protection of their prisoners. B. Officers escorting a handcuffed prisoner to a vehicle for transport shall maintain physical control of the person during the escort (e.g., keeping a secure grip on the person’s arm, not allowing the person to walk freely). Shackling a prisoner with leg irons meets the requirement of this protocol. C. The officer conducting the transport of a prisoner shall search the prisoner before conducting the transport. D. Except in situations as outlined in subsection J below, all prisoners needing to be transported away from the scene of the arrest shall be transported in the back seat/prisoner containment area of Department vehicles designed for the transport of prisoners. E. Unless prevented from doing so due to threats of violence or violent actions by the prisoner or an exigent circumstance beyond the officer’s control (e.g., hostile crowd), officers shall secure each prisoner with a vehicle safety belt. F. Male and female juvenile prisoners shall not be transported in the same vehicle, except when: 1. They are alleged or believed to be involved in the same offense or incident, or 2. An exigent circumstance exists and supervisory approval is first obtained. G. Juvenile and adult prisoners shall not be transported in the same vehicle, except when: 1. The adult, regardless of gender, is alleged or believed to be involved in the same offense or incident as the juvenile, or 2. An exigent circumstance exists, and supervisory approval is first obtained. GENERAL ORDER 59 PAGE 4 of 15 TRANSPORTING AND BOOKING PROCEDURES JULY 25, 2023\n\n--- Page 5 ---\n\nTALLAHASSEE POLICE DEPARTMENT H. Regardless of the protocols in subsections F and G above, officers are responsible for being mindful of the fact that in some situations separation of the prisoners may be in the best interest of a criminal investigation. I. Whenever possible, arresting officers shall utilize the Prisoner Transport Unit to facilitate the transportation of prisoners. J. When utilizing vehicles not designed for the transport of prisoners, officers shall adhere to the following: 1. A solo officer shall not transport a prisoner. 2. Two-door vehicles shall not be utilized. 3. When two officers are transporting one prisoner, the person shall be placed in the right rear seat of the vehicle and one officer shall ride in the left rear seat behind the driver. 4. When two officers are transporting two prisoners, one prisoner shall be placed in the right front seat and the second prisoner shall be placed in the right rear seat, and one officer shall ride in the left rear seat behind the driver. 5. Officers are responsible for ensuring the prisoners are secured with a vehicle safety belt during the transport. K. Officers shall not permit prisoners to communicate with citizens, including attorneys, during the actual transport. L. Upon placing a prisoner inside the transport vehicle, the transporting officer is responsible for the following: 1. Transporting the person directly to the intended destination (e.g., detention facility, hospital, Department Building), 2. Not responding to calls f