Chapter 3 – Personnel, Training, and Employee Relations

31140.24 Deadly Force Investigations

• The OIAOffice of Internal Affairs investigates all reported use of deadly force incidents resulting in injury and all reported uses of nondeadly force resulting in death or fatal injury. These deadly force incidents do not generally include inmate assault/battery on staff or warning shots in an institution/facility setting. The OIAOffice of Internal Affairs shall deploy separate Deadly Force Investigation Teams (DFIT) to conduct criminal and administrative investigations as soon as is reasonably practical after receiving a report of such an incident.

  • DFIT-Criminal Team

    • The DFIT-Criminal Team conducts deadly force criminal investigations either independently or in conjunction with appropriate local law enforcement agencies or district attorney’s office. In some cases and locations, the criminal investigation will be conducted by the local law enforcement agency in accordance with MOUMemorandum Of Understanding’s between the Department and the local law enforcement agency. In these cases, the DFIT-Criminal Team will monitor the progress of local law enforcement and assist when appropriate.

  • DFIT-Administrative Team

    • The DFIT-Administrative Team conducts deadly force administrative investigations as required to determine whether the use of force complied with department policies and procedures and to identify any need for policy, procedure, training and/or equipment modifications. The DFIT-Administrative Team refers and presents the completed investigation to the Deadly Force Review Board for disposition.

• The OIAOffice of Internal Affairs shall also refer to CCRCalifornia Code of Regulations Section 3268.1 for additional guidance and requirements governing deadly force investigations.