Duties of the Office of Professional Standards:
- Coordinates the receiving, processing. and conducting of internal investigations arising from citizen and internal complaints.
- Reviews all use of force by department members and makes recommendations to the chief of police when necessary.
- Reviews all police pursuits by department members and makes recommendations to the chief of police when necessary.
- Reviews all police-involved motor vehicle accidents by department members and makes recommendations to the chief of police when necessary.
- Responds to the scene when there is a discharge of a firearm by on-duty personnel and conducts a separate investigation to determine if this action falls within department guidelines.
The Office of Professional Standards maintains a comprehensive central index of all complaints received within the unit as well as those received by line supervisors.
Complaints will be accepted from any source and may be made anonymously, in person, or be telephone, but preferably they should be made in person by the individual directly concerned in the allegation against the police employee. Any supervisor may take a complaint, and upon receiving the complaint will forward it to the Office of Professional Standards.
If a person deliberately makes a false complaint against an officer, that person may be prosecuted criminally and/or held civilly liable.
