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201 Critical Incident (Issued 05-15-2008)FRIDLEY POLICE DATE OF ISSUE NUMBER: GENERAL ORDER May 15, 2008 201 SUBJECT: REVISION DATE SECTION: Critical Incident and Post-Shooting May 15, 2008 Orange I. PURPOSE The purpose of this policy is to provide guidelines that shall be applied whenever a police officer has been involved in a highly traumatic or critical incident, or, following any officer involved shooting incident that has resulted in death or great bodily harm, in order to minimize the chances that involved officers will develop or suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. II. POLICY Law enforcement duties often expose officers and support personnel to mentally stressful situations that cannot be resolved through normal stress coping mechanisms. Unless adequately treated, these stressors can cause disabling emotional and physical problems. It has been recognized that these stress disorders may be brought on in cases of officer involved shootings resulting in death or great bodily harm to a citizen or another officer. Often the stress can be so severe that much of the emotional trauma is internalized to avoid the immediate mental suffering. It is the intent of the Fridley Police Department to make members aware of the effects of post-traumatic stress disorders, and methods to cope with the stress. Therefore, it shall be the policy of this department to take immediate action after such incidents in order to safeguard the continued proper mental health of all involved personnel. III. DEFINITIONS Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder An anxiety disorder that can result from exposure to short-term severe stress or long-term build up of repetitive and prolonged milder stress. Officer-Involved Shooting Incident A line-of-duty incident where shooting causes death or great bodily harm to an officer or other person. Critical Incident An incident involving any of the following situations occurring in the line of duty. This list is not all inclusive: A. The discharge by an officer of his/her firearm resulting in injury or death to any person. B. A situation in which a person who is in the custody or control of an officer dies or sustains substantial bodily harm. C. Death or great bodily harm to an officer. D. Other traumatic events such as serious accidents, suicides, death scenes, multiple victims with serious injury, or any situation where violence or significant injury has occurred. Great Bodily Harm Bodily injury which creates a high probability of death, or which causes serious permanent disfigurement, or which causes permanent or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ or other serious bodily injury. Involved Officer An officer who participated or engaged in conduct constituting a critical incident. Witness Officer An officer who witnesses a critical incident, but apparently did not engage in any conduct constituting a critical incident. Incident Commander The ranking Fridley supervisor at the scene or his or her designee at the scene. Command Level Officer A member of the department holding the rank of Public Safety Director, Deputy Public Safety Director, Division Commander, Captain or Lieutenant. IV. PROCEDURES The following procedures shall serve as a guide whenever members of the department are involved in a critical incident. Not every step in the procedure may be required depending on the particular circumstances of the critical incident. A. Supervisor Duties 1. Notify the on-call command level officer of the incident. 2. Assume primary responsibility in caring for the involved personnel. If the involved officer is a supervisor, another Fridley Police Department supervisor will be requested to the scene. 3. Make sure the scene is safe. 4. Along with other responding officers, render first aid to any injured parties and make appropriate arrangements for additional medical care. 5. Determine who the involved officers are. 6. Determine who any witness officers are. 7. Briefly discuss the incident with the involved and witness officers to answer preliminary questions. The purpose of this discussion is to assist in determining if there are additional persons of interest that may still be at large, to assist in locating witnesses, and to assist in the subsequent investigation of the incident. 8. Assure crime scene boundaries are set up and keep the crime scene secure. 9. In shooting situations, collect all firearms used in the incident for examination and testing. Whenever a handgun is taken from an officer, it shall be replaced as soon as possible with another handgun. Only when the involved officer is in an extremely stressed state or when the officer has been seriously injured will the officer’s handgun not be replaced with another. 10. Arrange for involved officers to leave the scene as soon as possible, and be taken to the Fridley Police Department by another officer. 11. Explain to the officer what will happen administratively during the next few hours and why. 12. Secure any video recordings that might be available in the squad car video recorders. 13. Request a copy of all phone and radio transmissions relating to the incident from Central Communications. 14. Allow involved officers an opportunity to contact their legal counsel once at the Fridley Police Department. Advise officers not to discuss the incident with anyone except their legal counsel, union representative, or the assigned investigator until the conclusion of the preliminary investigation. 15. Assign an officer to escort and be with any involved officers until relieved. 16. Arrange for mutual assistance from neighboring police agencies to respond to calls for service in Fridley as necessary. 17. Call in additional staffing as necessary. 18. Assign officers to posts such as crime scene control officer who will log all personnel in and out of the crime scene, canvas officers who will attempt to locate any unknown witnesses by asking people in the area or going door-to-door in the area. 19. In order to maintain impartiality, an outside agency should be requested to investigate all officer involved shooting incidents and any incidents involving death or great bodily harm caused by a department member. The preferred agency to investigate shooting incidents or incidents involving death or great bodily harm is the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. The preferred agency to investigate incidents involving police vehicle accidents is the Minnesota State Patrol. Notify the appropriate agency to respond to investigate the incident. Brief investigators and crime scene analysts once they are on scene. If any weapons have been secured, turn them over to the crime scene analyst. 20. As soon as practical but without unreasonable delay arrange for involved officers to be transported to a medical facility where a sample of blood will be taken to determine the presence of alcohol and/or drugs. 21. Prepare a written report based on the verbal summaries of the incident obtained from involved and witness officers. If an involved officer is physically incapacitated and unable to make the required report, the supervisor on duty at the time of incident shall be responsible for preparing as complete a report as is possible for the officer. B. Involved Officers Duties 1. A supervisor shall be requested to the scene of the incident by the involved officer or any assisting officers. If there is no supervisor on-duty, have Central Communications notify the on-call command level officer. 2. Render aid to injured persons. 3. Involved officers shall verbally provide a brief synopsis of the incident to a supervisor or command level officer as soon as time and circumstances permit. 4. If an involved officer is required to remain at the scene of the incident, but has no immediate duties to fulfill, the officer should be taken to a quiet area away from the immediate incident location. A supportive officer should remain with the involved officer, but should refrain from discussing the details of the incident. 5. Involved officers will be assigned an escort officer who will be with and assist the involved officer as necessary. Involved officers should refrain from discussing the details of the incident with other involved officers during the first few hours following an incident. 6. Involved officers should not be offered any stimulants, such as coffee, cigarettes, etc. If an involved officer wishes to smoke or drink coffee the officer shall not be prevented from doing so, however, department members are reminded that stimulants can agitate and further stress an already stressed system, and their intake is not advised. 7. Involved officers should be afforded an opportunity to contact family members. 8. All involved officers are required to provide a blood sample for drug/alcohol screening. 9. Involved officers shall complete a report or provide a statement within 24 to 48 hours following the incident unless additional time is authorized by a command level officer. Involved officers will be allowed to view any audio or video recordings of the incident and will be given an opportunity to walk-thru the incident location prior to completing a report or providing a statement. Involved officers will be allowed a reasonable opportunity to consult with legal counsel prior to completing a report or providing a statement. Any such consultation must be noted in the report or statement. C. Post-Incident Procedures 1. Involved officers shall be relieved from all regularly assigned duties for a minimum of 72 hours immediately following the incident. Involved officers may not work any extra-duty employment while so relieved. 2. All involved officers shall be required to meet with a mental health professional prior to returning to full duty. Such meeting or meetings shall be considered on-duty time, and the city shall pay the fees of the mental health professional. All involved officers shall take part in a group peer debriefing facilitated by an approved debriefing team with 72 hours. 3. The Fridley Police Department strongly encourages the families of involved officers to take advantage of available counseling services. 4. A command level officer should brief other department members concerning the incident so that rumors are kept to a minimum. Department members are encouraged to continue to show concern and support for the involved officers. 5. Department members are not permitted to speak with the media about the incident except as directed by a command level officer. Members shall refer media inquiries to the designated agency spokesperson. 6. In order to protect against abusive phone calls, involved officers may arrange to have their calls screened by another person. If necessary, the Fridley Police Department will arrange for the change of an officers home phone number and cover any associated costs. 7. As part of the Fridley Police Department’s assessment of an involved officer’s fitness for duty, the officer will be required to requalify on the same type firearm that was used in the incident. D. Witness Officer Duties 1. Witness officers shall not talk to anyone at the scene about the incident, except to provide details to enable the supervisor, other responders or investigators to secure the scene, facilitate the investigation, apprehend suspects, and to allow for officer and civilian safety at the scene. 2. Witness officers shall be allowed a reasonable opportunity to consult with legal counsel prior to completing a report or providing a statement. Any such consultation must be noted in the report or statement. 3. Any witness officer will remain at the police department available for any additional interviews and to prepare a supplement report. 4. All witness officers shall take part in a group debriefing facilitated by an approved Debriefing Team. 5. A witness officer may be allowed to take paid leave during the 72 hours immediately following the incident at the discretion of a command level officer. The decision on whether to grant such leave shall be promptly communicated to the witness officer. A witness officer may not work any extra-duty employment while on such leave. 6. All witness officers are encouraged to meet with a mental health professional. Such meeting or meetings may be considered on-duty time, and the City may pay associated fees at the discretion of the Public Safety Director. E. Consultation with Legal Counsel Involved and witness officers are entitled to consult with their legal counsel during the pendency of the critical incident investigation, up to and including any grand jury proceedings. Such reasonable and necessary meeting or meetings shall be considered on-duty time. F. Role of the City Attorney It is common for critical incidents to result in civil lawsuits being filed against the City and the officers. It is important in order to properly prepare to defend any potential lawsuit following a critical incident that the city attorney’s office be fully informed. For this reason, both witness and involved officers shall be required to meet with and cooperate with the City Attorney’s office, representatives of the League of Minnesota Cities, or other individuals as the City may designate when appropriate in the preparation and subsequent defense of any case that may arise.