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  • Celebrating 20 Years of Training Excellence 2004-2024

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police at crime scene

  • Officer Involved Incident Investigation

Overview

The student will learn how to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into officer involved shootings and in-custody deaths. Students will be able to evaluate the incident, coordinate investigative resources, and manage the investigation from the initial call-out through the final disposition. Attendance restricted to sworn law enforcement officers.

Seminar Highlights

  • Strategies for Initial Response to Officer Involved Incidents
  • Crime Scene Assessment, Security and Processing
  • Logistics and Workflow
  • Interview & Interrogation
  • Investigative Resources and Special Considerations
  • Prosecution and Government Review
  • Aftermath and Agency Debriefing

Course Outline

Course Objective

The students will learn how to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into officer involved shootings and in-custody deaths. Students will be able to evaluate the incident, coordinate investigative resources, and manage the investigation from the initial callout through the final disposition.

Course Details

Basic strategy for the initial response to an Officer-Involved Incident

The role of the criminal investigator

  • Impartial and fair
  • Parallels a homicide investigation
  • Patience vs. efficiency
  • Expect obstacles/implement workarounds
  • The hazards of role deviation
  • Internal Affairs, City Attorney, District Attorney, non-essential interested parties

Recurring themes in OII investigations

  • Vehicles
  • Suspect fleeing
  • Vehicle as weapon
  • Unarmed suspect
  • Drug overdose
  • Taser death
  • Suspect on crime spree
  • County and agency protocols
  • Role of each agency/clear expectations

Strategy for critical/sensitive incidents

  • Unit Commander: Liaison upward
  • Lead Investigator(s): Liaison downward
  • Define scope of incident
  • Assess and allocate resources
  • Scene/evidence
  • Involved officers
  • Witness officers
  • Civilian witnesses
  • Establish expectations
  • Checks, balances, safeguards
  • Reassess frequently

Case Study Exercise/Activity

  • Introduce sample OIS Scenario
  • Break into groups of 4-5 students
  • Assess initial investigative steps

Crime scene assessment, security, and processing

  • Basic crime scene strategy
  • Inner/outer perimeter—limit tourism
  • Crime scene logs
  • Photos
  • Evidence management
  • Scene briefing
  • Before scene entry
  • Initial briefing
  • Directed by lead CSU investigator
  • Witness canvass and triage/video canvass
  • Evidence collection primer
  • GSR
  • Blood, tissues, fluids, fibers, DNA
  • Search
  • Deployment briefing

Case Study Exercise/Activity

  • Return to sample OIS Scenario
  • Break into groups of 4-5 students b. Assess crime scene steps

Logistics and optimal workflow within the investigative unit

  • Logistics
  • Involved officer(s) sequestered
  • Attorney
  • POA
  • Photos and equipment collection
  • Witness officers and report writing
  • Supervisor and investigator review
  • Meals, rest, equipment, computers
  • Location identification
  • Briefings

Case Study Exercise/Activity

  • Return to sample OIS Scenario
  • Break into groups of 4-5 students
  • Assess logistical steps/briefing components

Interview and Interrogation

  • Legal Primer
  • Interview vs. Interrogation
  • Miranda vs. Beheler
  • Documentation
  • Recording
  • Notes
  • Reports
  • Professional considerations
  • Officers vs. civilians
  • Attorneys
  • Outside agencies
  • Involved personnel
  • Lead interviewer/Support interviewer
  • Oppose additional observers
  • Civilian witnesses
  • Interview sheets
  • Cooperation
  • Sworn witnesses
  • Attorney representation
  • Reports favored over interview
  • Involved officer(s)
  • Interview venue
  • Pre-interview contact
  • Suspect interviews

Study Exercise/Activity

  • Return to sample OIS Scenario
  • Break into groups of 4-5 students
  • Assess Interview & Interrogation components

Investigative resources and special considerations

  • Warrants
  • Ramey
  • Arrest
  • Search
  • Preservation of evidence
  • Freeze
  • Preservation letters
  • LE databases
  • CAD/Internal contact databases
  • Criminal histories
  • Offline search
  • WSIN
  • LPR
  • Public databases
  • Investigator mindset

Prosecution and Government Attorney Review

  • The role of the District Attorney
  • Criminal liability
  • Prosecution
  • Check and balance
  • Public trust
  • Grand Jury vs. DA Review
  • DA Presentation
  • City Attorney/County Counsel/Government Attorney
  • Civil liability
  • Right to discovery
  • Parallel investigation

Aftermath and Agency Debriefing

  • Investigative debriefs
  • Command staff debriefs
  • Department wide debriefs
  • Debriefs may be discoverable

Case Study Exercise/Activity

  • Return to sample OIS Scenario
  • Break into groups of 4-5 students
  • Assess aftermath and final debriefs

Seminar Speakers

  • The information presented was highly relevant to my job and was presented in a manner that was organized and very easy to digest.

    —Michael McGarvey, California State Prison, San Quentin

  • This training by far has been the most informative and most effective I've attended. The instructors engaged the students in a manner that made me want to speak my opinion, ask questions, and participate.

    —Julio Ibarra, Merced County Sheriff’s Office

  • Your training has made the greatest and most direct impact on my assignment of any training class that I've taken.

    —Ken Gelskey, National City Police Department

  • Incredible training with amazing real world instruction. I have been taking law enforcement classes for over 30 years and by far this is the best presented and most useful.

    —Det. Brian Dale, Portland Police Bureau

  • Effective teaching teams! The presentation of the material was consistently interesting, and intelligent without being too intellectualized.

    —Michele Keller, Deputy Probation Officer, County of Alameda

  • This was, by far, one of the most useful training classes I've attended since becoming an investigator.

    —Steven Aiello, Antioch Police Department

  • Your training gave me the confidence and tools to interview the suspect for over 5 hours and to bring a closure to the case.

    —Daniel Phelan, San Jose Police Department

  • This training provided the useful tools necessary for assessing the veracity of a suspected child abuser, which goes a long way in helping to protect children.

    —Sunny Burgan, MSSW, LCSW, Social Work Supervisor, Santa Clara County DFCS

  • It not often that you go to a training that you really, really want to pay attention to. Because of the high quality information and style of presentation, I knew that if I looked away I was going to miss out.

    —Quinten Graves, Oregon State Police

  • I highly recommend this training for any Probation staff who have the necessity to interview/interrogate individuals for investigation purposes.

    —R. Bret Fidler, Santa Clara County Probation Department

  • This was, by far and away the best training I have received in 15 plus years of Law Enforcement. The instructors are experienced, engaging, articulate, and very entertaining. I will be recommending this training to multiple agencies.

    —Mark Paynter, Oregon DOC

  • Instructional style is engaging and highly effective.

    —George Laing, Fire Prevention Captain, Investigator

  • I will continue to use and pass on this information because I really believe in the instructors and their approach.

    —Kimberly Meyer, Washoe County Sheriff's Department

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