San Rafael Police Department Police Incident Investigation Process
1. Police incident occurs
5. Conduct interviews
(with legal &/or union
representation) of
witnesses, officers,
complaintaints
6. Analyzes interview
data to determine if
more interviews and/or
research are needed
7. Submits report
with findings,
including if there
was a violation of
policy(ies)
2. Initial review deternines if formal investigative is necessary (SRPD Policy 1011)
3a. Formal:
Investigator determines if policy(ies) were violated by following the 4 steps below:
8. Completed investigstion report with findings is submitted to the Division Commander
9. Did the investigation yield policies were violated by the officeer 10a. If Yes,
Division Comander
recommends level of
discipline to the Police
Chief
10b. If No,
investigation complete
& complaint is closed*
11. Officer(s) recieve
notice of imposed
discipline & appeal
process and hearing
(Skelly) held
4. Review all potential
evidence materials,
including audio/video
footage
*At the conclusion of the process, the City will release all information permitted by law regarding the results of the investigation.
The officer(s) have a right to an appeal
process, which incudes a formal hearing
called a Skelly hearing; this appeal
process can take anywhere from
approximately 3-6 months to complete.
The time period of conducting
interviews ranges greatly
depending on the complexity
of the incident, availablity of
attorneys and union
representatives who attend
along with interviewees. The
time lapse for steps #5 and #6
ranges between
approximately 3-9 months.
3b. Non-formal:
The initial investigation determines the officers actions did not violate policy. Complaint is closed *This instance can still allow for retraining to gain better outcomes in the future