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District of Columbia Code Division I. Government of District. § 5-1104. Police Complaints Board.

Current as of January 01, 2024 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

<Text of section applicable upon the date of inclusion of the fiscal effect of D.C. Law 24-345 in an approved budget and financial plan. See, also, section 5-1104 applicable until the date of inclusion of the fiscal effect of D.C. Law 24-345 in an approved budget and financial plan.>

(a)(1) There is established a Police Complaints Board (“Board”). The Board shall be composed of 9 members, which shall include one member from each Ward and one at-large member, none of whom shall have a current or prior affiliation with law enforcement, including being employed by a law enforcement agency or law enforcement union.

(2) The Board members shall be District residents and represent the District's geographic, demographic, and cultural diversity.

(3)(A) The members of the Board shall be appointed by the Mayor, subject to confirmation by the Council.

(B) The Mayor shall submit a nomination to the Council for a 90-day period of review, excluding days of Council recess.

(C) If the Council does not approve the nomination by resolution within this 90-day review period, the nomination shall be deemed disapproved.

(b) Board members first appointed after March 26, 1999 shall serve as follows: 2 shall serve for a 3-year term; 2 shall serve for a 2-year term; and one shall serve for a 1-year term. Thereafter, Board members shall serve for a term of 3 years or until a successor has been appointed. All board members shall serve without compensation. A Board member may be reappointed. The Board shall select a chairperson from among its members. The Mayor may remove a member of the Board from office for cause. A person appointed to fill a vacancy on the Board occurring prior to the expiration of a term shall serve for the remainder of the term or until a successor has been appointed.

(c) A quorum for the transaction of business shall be 5 members of the Board.

(d) The Board shall conduct periodic reviews of the complaint review process and make recommendations, where appropriate, to the Mayor, the Council, and the designated agency principal concerning the status and the improvement of the complaint process and the management of the MPD and the DCHAPD affecting the incidence of police misconduct, such as the recruitment, training, evaluation, discipline, and supervision of police officers.

(d-1) The Board may, where appropriate, monitor and evaluate MPD's handling of, and response to, First Amendment assemblies, as defined in § 5-333.02, held on District streets, sidewalks, or other public ways, or in District parks.

(d-2)(1) The Board shall review the following with respect to the MPD, the DCHAPD, or the OIG:

(A) The number, type, and disposition of complaints received, investigated, sustained, or otherwise resolved;

(B) The race, national origin, gender, and age of the complainant, if known, and the subject officer or officers;

(C) The proposed discipline and the actual discipline imposed on a law enforcement officer as a result of any sustained complaint;

(D) All use of force incidents, serious use of force incidents, and serious physical injury incidents; and

(E) Any in-custody death.

(2) The Executive Director, acting on behalf of the Board, shall have unfettered access to all information and supporting documentation specifically related to the Board's duties under paragraph (1) of this subsection.

<Text of subsec. (d-2)(3) applicable upon the date of inclusion of the fiscal effect of amendments by § 14 of D.C. Law 25-175 in an approved budget and financial plan.>

(3) The Executive Director shall keep confidential the identity of any person named in any documents transferred from the MPD to the Office pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection.

(4) The disclosure or transfer of any public record, document, or information from the MPD, the DCHAPD, or the OIG to the Office pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection shall not constitute a waiver of any privilege or exemption that otherwise could be asserted by the MPD to prevent disclosure to the general public or in a judicial or administrative proceeding.

(5) A Freedom of Information Act request for public records collected pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection may only be submitted to the MPD, the DCHAPD, or the OIG, respectively.

(6) Beginning on December 31, 2017, and by December 31 of each year thereafter, the Board shall deliver a report to the Mayor and the Council that analyzes the information evaluated by the Board under paragraph (1) of this subsection.

(7) In its review of in-custody deaths described in paragraph (1)(E) of this subsection, the Board shall issue findings related to, and recommendations in response to, each death.

(d-3)(1) The Board or any entity selected by the Board shall cause to be conducted an independent review of the activities of MPD's Narcotics and Specialized Investigations Division, and any of its subdivisions (“NSID”), from January 1, 2017, through December 31, 2019.

(2) By April 30, 2021, the Board shall submit to the Mayor and Council a report summarizing the findings of the review, including:

(A) A description of the NSID's operations, management, and command structure;

(B) An evaluation of stops and searches conducted by NSID officers, including an analysis of the records identified in § 5-113.01(a)(4B);

(C) An evaluation of complaints received by the Office regarding the alleged conduct of NSID officers;

(D) An evaluation of the adequacy of discipline imposed by the Metropolitan Police Department on NSID officers as a result of a sustained allegation of misconduct pursuant to § 5-1112; and

(E) Recommendations, informed by best practices for similar entities in other jurisdictions, for improving the NSID's policing strategies, providing effective oversight over NSID officers, and improving community-police relations.

(3)(A) The Executive Director, acting on behalf of the Board, shall have access to all books, accounts, records, reports, findings, and all other papers, things, or property belonging to or in use by any department, agency, or other instrumentality of the District government that are necessary to facilitate the review.

(B) If the Executive Director is denied access to any books, accounts, records, reports, findings, or any other papers, things, or property, the reason for the denial shall:

(i) Be submitted in writing to the Executive Director no later than 7 days after the date of the Executive Director's request;

(ii) State the specific reasons for the denial, including citations to any law or regulation relied upon as authority for the denial; and

(iii) State the names of the public officials or employees responsible for the decision to deny the request.

(4) Employees of the MPD shall cooperate fully with the Office or any entity selected by the Office to conduct the review. Upon notification by the Executive Director that an MPD employee has not cooperated as requested, the Police Chief shall cause appropriate disciplinary action to be instituted against the employee and shall notify the Executive Director of the outcome of such action.

(5) The Executive Director shall keep confidential the identity of all persons named in any documents transferred from the MPD to the Office pursuant to this subsection.

(6) The disclosure or transfer of any books, accounts, records, reports, findings or any papers, things, or property from the MPD to the Office pursuant to this subsection shall not constitute a waiver of any privilege or exemption that otherwise could be asserted by the MPD to prevent disclosure to the general public or in a judicial or administrative proceeding.

(7) A Freedom of Information Act request for any books, accounts, records, reports, findings or any papers, things, or property obtained by the Office from the MPD pursuant to this subsection may only be submitted to the MPD.

(d-4)(1) The Police Chief shall, prior to issuing a new, or amending an existing, written directive, submit the new or amended written directive to the Board for feedback.

(2) The Board shall, within 15 business days of receipt of the new or amended written directive, provide the Police Chief written feedback, which shall include consideration of whether the proposed written directive:

(A) Reduces the likelihood of confrontations between law enforcement officers and residents and visitors;

(B) Increases transparency, accountability, and procedural justice in policing;

(C) Promotes racial equity;

(D) Increases public confidence in law enforcement agencies; and

(E) Complies with local and federal law.

(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Police Chief may issue a new, or amend an existing, written directive prior to receiving feedback from the Board if 15 business days have expired since the MPD submitted the proposed directive to the Board or the Police Chief submits a written rationale to the Board explaining why an exigency exists.

(4) For the purposes of this subsection, the term “written directive” means a rule or regulation issued by the Mayor or Police Chief applicable to MPD employees including general orders, special order, circulars, standard operating procedures, and bureau or division orders, that are not purely administrative.

(d-5)(1) The Executive Director, or an entity selected by the Executive Director, shall conduct a study to determine whether the Metropolitan Police Department (“MPD”) engaged in biased policing when it conducted threat assessments before or during assemblies within the District.

(2) At a minimum, the study shall:

(A) Examine MPD's use of threat assessments before or during assemblies in the District from January 2017 through January 2021;

(B) Determine whether MPD engaged in biased policing when it conducted threat assessments before or during assemblies in the District from January 2017 through January 2021;

(C) Provide a detailed analysis of MPD's response to each assembly in the District between January 2017 through January 2021, including:

(i) Number of arrests made;

(ii) Number of civilian and officer injuries;

(iii) Type of injuries;

(iv) Number of fatalities;

(v) Number of officers deployed;

(vi) What type of weaponry and crowd control tactics were used;

(vii) Whether riot gear was used; and

(viii) Whether any of the individuals involved in the assembly were on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's terrorist watchlist;

(D) If there is a finding that biased policing has occurred, determine whether MPD's response to those engaged in the assembly varied based on the race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or gender; and

(E) Provide recommendations based on the findings in the study, including:

(i) If biased policing occurred, how to prevent bias from impacting whether MPD conducts a threat assessment and how to ensure bias does not impact a threat assessment going forward;

(ii) If biased policing has not been found to have occurred, how to ensure that there is not a disparity in MPD's response to all assemblies across all groups, of proportionate size and characteristics, in the District in the future; or

(iii) If the study is inconclusive on the occurrence of biased policing, what additional steps must be taken to reach a conclusion.

(3) Any collaborating outside partners shall meet the following criteria:

(A) Be nonpartisan;

(B) Have expertise and knowledge of law enforcement practices in the District, bias in policing, homegrown domestic terrorism in the United States, and intelligence data sharing practices;

(C) Have a history of conducting studies and evaluations of law enforcement procedures, regulations, and practices; and

(D) Have experience developing solutions to policy or legal challenges.

(4) The Executive Director shall submit a report on the study to the Council no later than 12 months after April 21, 2023.

(e) Within 60 days of the end of each fiscal year, the Board shall transmit to the entities named in subsection (d) of this section an annual report of the operations of the Board and the Office of Police Complaints.

(f) The Board is authorized to apply for and receive grants to fund its program activities in accordance with laws and regulations relating to grant management.

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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - District of Columbia Code Division I. Government of District. § 5-1104. Police Complaints Board. - last updated January 01, 2024 | https://codes.findlaw.com/dc/division-i-government-of-district/dc-code-sect-5-1104/

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