VCLECC - Funeral - Protocol - October - 2021

CHI CHIE SANTA PAULA POLICE DISTRI ATTOR VENTURA NEY COUNTY VENTURA COUNTY LAW ENFORCEMENT COORDINATING COMMITTEE POLICE CHIEF POLICS October 2021 OXNARD POLICE 1909 CHIE SIMI VALLEY POLICE CHIEF DARIN SCHINDLER Ventura Police Department سلا E CHIEF TRAVIS WALKER Santa Paula Police Department D.M. Jul CHIEF DAVIS LIVINGSTONE Simi Valley Police Department Els ERIK NASARENKO District Attorney erho SHERIFF BILL AYUB Ventura County Sheriff CHIEF ANDREW SALINAS Port Hueneme Police Department Jom Berb CHIEF JASON BENITES Oxnard Police Department 2 Law Enforcement Funeral Protocol 1 VENTURA COUNTY POLICE FUNERAL COMMITTEE Ventura County Sheriff's Office 800 S. Victoria Avenue Ventura, Ca. 93009 (805) 654-2375 Ventura Police Department 1425 Dowell Drive Ventura, Ca. 93003 (805) 339-4400 Simi Valley Police Department 3901 Alamo Street Simi Valley, Ca. 93060 (805) 583-6950 Oxnard Police Department 251 South "C" Street Oxnard, Ca. 93030 (805) 385-7725 Port Hueneme Police Department 250 N. Ventura Road Port Hueneme, Ca. 93041 (805) 986-6530 Santa Paula Police Department 214 S. 10th Street Santa Paula, Ca. 93060 (805) 933-4231 3 VENTURA COUNTY POLICE FUNERAL PROTOCOL COMMITTEE Policy Statement It is the stated purpose of this committee to establish a standard Law Enforcement Funeral Resource Guide for Ventura County agencies, composed in such a way as to be suitable and, therefore, adoptable by all law enforcement agencies in the County. In all aspects of this endeavor, the concept "at the discretion of the Agency Head" is understood. Law enforcement executives are, as always, at liberty to make whatever decisions are in the best interest of their agencies. It is also assumed that any decedent, subject to the provisions of this protocol, was not involved in criminal conduct at the time of death. The Committee The committee is composed of representatives from the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, and the Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Santa Paula, Simi Valley and Ventura Police Departments. The Document The recommendations contained in this document are the result of extensive research and collective experience in the conduct of law enforcement related funerals. The rationale behind the recommendations is well reasoned and unanimously agreed upon by the members of the committee. It is not the purpose of this document to detail the reasoning behind the recommendations - to do so would make the document too lengthy for readability or usefulness. There is a considerable expertise involved in the recommendations and they are made in good-faith in the hope that all agencies will see their value, trust their validity and adopt them as presented. Shared Resources It is the recommendation of the Committee that all agencies adopt a "Funeral Mutual Aid" stance that will, as a primary duty assignment, make as needed, specialized personnel resources available to the impacted agency, to wit; law enforcement funeral experts, buglers, pipers, horses, helicopters, honor guard, chaplains, etc. Debriefing It is recommended that each department's personnel involved in the conduct of funerals meet with the committee of the impacted agency (with a County Protocol Committee member in attendance) and debrief the event for evaluation purposes to determine if any changes to policy or practice are appropriate. 4 Mourning Ribbon / Flag Protocol The standard protocol for the display of mourning ribbons and flags is: Ribbons are to be affixed to the badge and flags at half-staff upon notification of a qualifying death, ribbons off and flags at the norm, midnight the day of the funeral. (Addendum #6, Page 24) Critical Injury/Death and Funeral Notice The Critical Injury / Death and Funeral Notice form, (Addendum #1, Page 19 ) to this policy is activated. This form should be used to release information relative to the critical injury or death of an employee. The "critical injury" aspect of the form is reserved for those injuries that are so grave that there is little or no expectation of recovery. Death of Animals The standard protocol for the death of animals in law enforcement service is attached as Addendum #8. Classification of Decedents It is recommended that five classifications of law enforcement employees be adopted for the purpose of identification and discharge of the appropriate level of funeral ceremonies. SWORN: CIVILIAN: RETIRED: SEPARATED: Those sworn to enforce laws, including Reserve Officers; All other employees, including volunteers; Those honorably retired on service or disability pensions; Those who have left the employed of an agency and whose welfare and whereabouts are of general interest to the agency or other government employees; IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBERS: Spouse, children, parents, siblings of all employee Classification of Events classifications. It is recommended that five classifications of law enforcement related deaths be adopted: Death of a sworn employee that is the proximate result of a traumatic injury sustained in the line of duty; Death of a sworn employee in any other manner