Officer Involved Shootings

OK, it is a ways away from criminal procedure. But it does almost always involve self defense so maybe this post isn't too far off subject.

I am a bit surprised here in 2011 that there are so many different procedures in the various counties, cities and states to investigate officer involved shootings. It seems to me that where politics, egos, and turfdom are put aside, the best way to investigate these incidents is clear. I was thinking about this area recently when I read the story about the double murderer in the Ft. Bragg area that had hid from the cops for a month in the woods and was ultimately shot and killed by a Sacramento County SWAT team. It appeared that officer(s) involved shooting was not much in the way of "self defense" . In that case, it was the use of deadly force to apprehend a fleeing felon. I will get back to this thought later.....keep it in mind.

From the mid 1990's until I retired in 2009, I was involved with, or commanded the investigation of over twenty officer involved shootings. Here in this area of California, the law enforcement agencies entered into an agreement in 1996 to form an "Officer Involved Shooting and Critical Incident Team" Very experienced investigators from each agency were members of the OIS Team. If an officer involved shooting occured, all of the police agencies would send their top investigator(s) and they would conduct the investigation. This way, the agency whose officer was involved did not conduct the investigation. The entire process was overseen by the elected district attorney who ultimately would determine if any law was broken, cop or bad guy. Because there would be twenty or more investigators assembled to do the investigation, it was usually the case that a finding could be made as to the legaliity of the officers shooting within 24 hours. This allowed the involved officers to know where they stood and were not off on administrative leave for days, weeks, or months waiting for the D.A. to decide. It works very well

I am continually suprised to read in the newspaper that some DA somewhere finally decided that the officers involved in a shooting MONTHS AGO are cleared of any wrong doing...Wow! Really?...It took months to make that decision? What about the poor cops involved waiting for your decision, week after week? You see, the shooting team approach will only work when the police chiefs, the sheriff and the DA put their egos and turf issues aside and agree to do what is right....Multi-agency officer involved shooting teams work and are the best way to investigate this issues.

Now, I told you there was some connection to criminal law. The Ft. Bragg shooting of a murderer was the first police shooting I can think of in decades in this area where the legal justification for the police shooting was really centered on apprehension, not self defense. Once upon a time cops could use deadly force in the apprehension of any felon. In those days, if you ran, you just died tired. Then along came Tennessee v. Garner. The SCOTUS said killing people to arrest them was justified only where the bad guy posed a clear and present danger to the community, etc. This use of deadly force rule then reduced the number of police killings to the point where those that happen now are almost exclusively self defense or defense of others. The investigative issue is then focused on the conduct of the officers that shot and whether their perception of the threat to them or others was objectively reasonable. If it was, then their use of deadly force results in a finding of justifiable homicide

As for the use of force in the Ft. Bragg case, based on what little I know, I have no heartache with what occured. This guy shot at the officers searching for him and as the Mendocino County Sheriff said, "he brought the fight to them".