Bill > A3650

Introduced Session

This bill codifies an Attorney General Directive concerning criminal investigations of law enforcement use-of-force and in-custody deaths. Under the bill, when a law enforcement incident occurs, every State, county, and municipal law enforcement agency is required to notify the county prosecutor's office of the county in which the incident occurred, who is required to immediately notify the Director of the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA). The bill defines a "law enforcement incident" as any of the following: 1) use of force by a law enforcement officer resulting in death or serious bodily injury; 2) use of deadly force, including the discharge of a firearm, by a law enforcement officer regardless of whether the force resulted in injury; 3) the death of any civilian during an encounter with a law enforcement officer; and 4) the death of any civilian while in the custody of law enforcement. The bill provides that the Director of the OPIA is required to determine which State or county law enforcement agency is to serve as the independent investigator, unless that agency has a conflict. In the case of a conflict, the director is to mitigate the conflict or seek another agency to serve as the independent investigator. The bill also sets forth certain standards for appointing an independent investigator. In addition, under the bill, prior to the Director of the OPIA appointing a law enforcement agency as the independent investigator, the office is to conduct a comprehensive inquiry to determine whether it has any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that might undermine public confidence in the impartiality and independence of the investigation. If the director becomes aware of a conflict, the director is to take certain remedial measures. Upon selection by the director, the independent investigator is required to promptly begin investigating the law enforcement incident. As part of the initial investigation, the independent investigator is required to make all reasonable efforts to preserve and obtain any video or audio recordings that depict any aspect of the law enforcement incident. To ensure the independence of the investigation, only law enforcement officers working under the direct supervision of the independent investigator may participate in the investigation or share or receive information about the investigation, with certain exceptions. The bill establishes certain personnel that may assist the independent investigator in the investigation of a law enforcement incident and with whom the independent investigator is permitted to share investigative information. Further, the bill sets forth the standards for releasing law enforcement footage. The bill defines "law enforcement footage" as recordings captured by a law enforcement officers' body-worn camera, a camera mounted in an officer's patrol car, a camera embedded in an officer's conductive energy device, a surveillance or security camera, or a camera or smartphone belonging to a witness. Under the bill, at the conclusion of the investigation, the independent investigator is to prepare a summary of their factual findings, legal analysis, and preliminary recommendations as to whether any principal of the investigation should be criminally charged for their involvement in the law enforcement incident. The findings, legal analysis, and preliminary charging recommendation are required to be submitted for an independent assessment by the independent supervisory reviewer. The bill also sets forth the cases which require the independent investigator to present evidence to the grand jury concerning the law enforcement incident and sets forth the actions required by the independent investigator. In cases where the matter is not presented to the grand jury or where the matter is presented, but the grand jury declines to criminally charge any of the principals of the investigation, the independent investigator is to prepare a statement for public dissemination which is to comply with all rules of grand jury secrecy and be reviewed by the independent supervisory reviewer prior to release. Under the bill, where a death of a person occurs while the person is in the custody of law enforcement and plausibly could be linked to the actions of the law enforcement officer, whether through the intentional use of force or a reckless indifference to human life, the OPIA is required to investigate the matter in accordance with the provisions of this bill. Where the death cannot be plausibly linked to the actions of the law enforcement officer, the office is to supervise the investigation according to procedures established in the bill. Finally, the bill requires each county prosecutor to undertake efforts to educate residents in the county about the bill's provisions and report to the Attorney General on public education efforts.

Committee Categories

Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D)*,  Britnee Timberlake (D)*,  Joe Danielsen (D),  Jamel Holley (D), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee (on 03/16/2020)