Why File a Complaint
By. S. Lee Reid II
Why it is so important that you file a Complaint for officer misconduct with your local civilian oversight agency.
Filing a complaint holds officers accountable, ensures that law enforcement policies and training reflect the needs and desires of the community, and establishes an official record of an officer’s interaction with the community.
Over the summer, some may recall the shock and outrage when children (ages 5 -17 years old) were placed by gunpoint face down on hot asphalt by Aurora, Colorado police officers when their mother was stopped for suspicion of driving a stolen vehicle. Last week, the District Attorney’s Office declined to pursue charges against the involved officers.
“This is not to say that what happened to the occupants of the vehicle is okay or tolerable,” prosecutors wrote. “It is not. The errors in information-sharing, training, and procedure that led to these innocent people being subjected to this police encounter must be investigated further and prevented from happening again. Those are issues that do not appear to rise to the level of criminal culpability and are outside the jurisdiction of our office.”
Additionally, Denver 7 News reported that the Aurora Police Chief responded:
“We have been training our officers that when they contact a suspected stolen car, they should do what is called a high-risk stop,” Wilson said in a statement in August. “This involves drawing their weapons and ordering all occupants to exit the car and lie prone on the ground. But we must allow our officers to have discretion and to deviate from this process when different scenarios present themselves. I have already directed my team to look at new practices and training. I have called the family to apologize and to offer any help we can provide, especially for the children who may have been traumatized by yesterday’s events. I have reached out to our victim advocates so we can offer age-appropriate therapy that the city will cover.”
Unlike the thousands of interactions between citizens and officers daily, the media exposure of this incident prompted the police department to examine its policies and training involving high risks stops. One cannot help but wonder if the department would have taken the action to “look at new policies and training” if the news media had not picked up the story. The reality is the news media is not going to report every incident of alleged officer misconduct and most allegations of possibly criminal misconduct are not pursued by prosecutors.
When it comes to officer actions, criminal charges present numerous obstacles. Criminal investigations, prosecutorial decisions, grand jury indictments, and convictions hinge on whether an officer’s intent meets an element of a crime and whether the evidence meets the criminal standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Whereas the standard of proof for a civilian oversight agency is proof by a preponderance of the evidence (and in a few places, clear and convincing evidence), i.e., is it more likely than not, that an objectively reasonable officer with the training and knowledge under the same circumstances would have engaged in the actions and thus violated the law enforcement department’s policy.
Civil lawsuits use a preponderance of the evidence standard; however, a civil lawsuit judgment generally involves a question of compensation. A civil judgment will usually not involve necessary changes in the police department policies and training.
Fortunately, civilian oversight agencies are tasked with receiving and assessing citizen complaints daily. As an independent investigative civilian oversight agency, our function is to assess the four corners of the complaint by thoroughly and independently examining and investigating the officer’s actions in relation to the circumstances of the incident and the evidence, training, policy, and law. Filing a complaint for alleged officer misconduct provides: 1) an opportunity for the citizen to receive redress if a violation of policy is supported by the evidence, 2) an opportunity for the officer to receive correction/discipline as warranted, 3) a check on the proper application of policy and training, 4) an assessment of the community impact of the departmental policy and training, 5) establishing an official record of an officer’s actions and potential issues because of the policy and training, and 6) to reduce the harm that another citizen may experience from an officer who is violating department policy.
The Atlanta Citizen Review Board (ACRB) is an independent investigative agency of the City of Atlanta. The agency is authorized to investigate, review and determine citizen complaints against Atlanta police and corrections officers. Citizens and officers have our commitment to conduct investigations fairly and thoroughly. If you have a concern or question about the actions of an Atlanta police or corrections officer, please contact the ACRB at 404-865-8622 or file a complaint at https://acrbgov.org/file-a-complaint/.
Lee Reid is Executive Director of the Atlanta Citizen Review Board