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Toshiko
Hasegawa, Communications Manager, OLEO | 206-477-3795 | toshiko.hasegawa@kingcounty.gov
August 28, 2018
County Watchdog
Report: Sheriff’s Office Handling of Use of Force Complaints Inconsistent,
Lacks Follow-Through
The King
County Office of Law Enforcement Oversight (OLEO) released a new report, Use of Force Complaint Processing in the King
County Sheriff’s Office, today at a briefing of the Metropolitan King
County Council’s Law and Justice Committee. The report, which reviews the way
the Sheriff’s Office has handled complaints made by members of the public
against officers for the unnecessary or excessive use of force, recommends
improvements to procedure.
“OLEO’s
reports provide the Sheriff’s Office with external expertise that can help
guide Sheriff Johanknecht and her administration should they wish to take steps
to improve the department’s policing systems,” said OLEO Director Deborah
Jacobs. “The implementation of OLEO’s recommendations in this and our other
recent reports would demonstrate commitment to a fair and responsive complaint
system.”
OLEO engaged
a team of experts in police practices to review
files and assess the quality and consistency of complaint investigations. They
include Kathryn Olson of Change Integration Consulting, Michael Gennaco and
Robert Miller of the OIR Group, Robert Scales of Police Strategies LLC and
Matthew Hickman of Seattle University’s Criminal Justice Department.
The review
included looking at 82 closed cases from a two-year period to provide a picture
of what types of interactions lead to use of force complaints and the steps
taken by the Sheriff’s Office from that point forward. This comprehensive
review of the use of force complaint investigative process resulted in three
primary conclusions
- Sheriff’s
Office personnel do not consistently follow through with policies and
procedures. While some re-working of structure and policies is needed for the
review of use of force, basic follow through on policies that are already in
place would improve thoroughness and accountability.
- Deficiencies
exist in the use of interviews, including favoring written statements over
in-person interviews. When interviews are conducted, they were often cursory or
lacking in thoroughness. This may point to inadequate training for
investigators.
- The
Sheriff’s Office as an organization would benefit from a cultural shift to
become more responsive to impacted members of the public.
The report
authors made 28 recommendations to improve consistency, thoroughness, and fairness
in processes, including to
- Consider
whether the threshold for reportable force should include control holds, a
complaint of pain rather than injury, and drawing and pointing a firearm.
- Designate
a commander outside of the
Internal Investigations Unit IIU responsible for reviewing use of force reports for
quality assurance and for consideration as to whether any policy or training
issues are identified that should be referred to IIU or elsewhere.
- Require
more detailed documentation of use of force in arrest reports, as well as
enforcement by supervisors to comply with thoroughness by returning the
document and requiring more information.
- Require
that the IIU conduct in-person interviews for use of force complaint
investigations. If an interview wasn’t conducted, include in the file an
explicit statement of the reasons why not.
- Provide
community education about uses of force and solicit public input regarding
policy and practices for uses of force to ensure that they comport with
community values.
- Provide
training on interview skills, the appropriate standard of proof to use in
misconduct investigations, and how to make credibility determinations when
necessary.
As with its
other recent reports, OLEO hopes that the Sheriff’s Office will embrace the expert
findings and recommendations to improve the Sheriff’s Office’s internal
accountability structure to promote greater transparency, consistency and
fairness to both the public and its employees.
OLEO is an
independent office established by the King County Council to represent the
interests of the public in its efforts to hold the Sheriff’s Office accountable
for providing fair and just police services. It conducts systemic reviews of
the Sheriff’s Office’s policies, practices and trainings, and makes policy
recommendations to the Sheriff’s Office and the County Council for meaningful
improvements.
You can read
OLEO’s report online at: https://kingcounty.gov/independent/law-enforcement-oversight/reports.aspx
Learn more about King
County’s Office of Law Enforcement Oversight at
http://www.kingcounty.gov/OLEO
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