Chapter 96I — POLICE DEPARTMENT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

CHAPTER 96I: POLICE DEPARTMENT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

(a) Community Engagement Process. Before agendizing any proposal to establish, modify, or abolish policies or procedures related to Police Department operations, the Police Commission shall first publish a notice regarding the proposal on its website. The Department shall then have 90 days to hold community meetings to solicit public feedback on any existing policies or procedures that may be affected, with at least one community meeting at each district station. Each community meeting shall have a neutral facilitator selected jointly by the Chief of Police and the Commission President. The facilitator shall chair the meetings, encourage dialogue between community members and the Department and Commission, and post written summaries online before any Commission meeting where any proposed change will be considered. The purpose of this community engagement shall be to describe the existing policies and procedures, solicit feedback on their implementation and impacts, and identify possible changes, rather than to consider specific draft proposals or to advocate for particular positions or changes. The Commission may begin holding public meetings on proposed changes only after the Commission President and Chief of Police have consulted each other, at the close of the 90-day community engagement period, on whether the community meetings are complete. If either the Commission or the Department convene a working group to consider a change to a policy or procedure, they may do so only after the consultation described in the foregoing sentence, and any working group should include subject matter experts, community members with experience in the criminal justice system, merchants, business owners, victims of crimes, and current or former police officers.

(b) Waiver by the Chief of Police. This Section 96I.1 is intended to help the Commission and Department receive public feedback on whether proposed changes to policies and procedures governing Department operations will impact the Department’s ability to efficiently and effectively serve the community. The Chief of Police may waive the requirements of this section 96I.1 based on whether the proposed changes are unlikely to have a substantial impact on the Department’s ability to serve the community, the amount of public feedback already received on the subject matter, the need for immediate action, and such other factors as the Chief may deem appropriate.

(c) Other Notice Requirements. This Section 96I¹ is not intended to impair any other notice requirements that may apply to the Commission, such as the 10-day notice required under Charter Section 4.104(a). (Added by Proposition E, 3/5/2024, Eff. 4/12/2024) CODIFICATION NOTE

1. So in Proposition E, 3/5/2024.

(a) Administrative Time. It is essential that the Commission and Department maximize the time that officers can spend performing their core law enforcement and crime prevention functions, as opposed to administrative tasks. When adopting or revising policies governing the conduct of officers, the Commission and Department shall endeavor to minimize imposing administrative tasks on officers so that officers can primarily focus their time and efforts on law enforcement and crime prevention. It shall be City policy that patrol officers shall spend no more than 20% of their on-duty time conducting administrative tasks, except for tasks required by law, such as the completion of arrest reports and the booking of arrestees and property, and except for training and education.

(b) Recordkeeping and Reporting. To minimize redundancy and administrative tasks with respect to recordkeeping and reporting, the Commission and Department shall revise their existing policies and procedures to reduce all recordkeeping and reporting requirements to the extent allowed by law, and shall apply this rule to all future policies and procedures. Further, officers shall be authorized to comply with recordkeeping and reporting requirements through the use of technologies such as body-worn cameras. This subsection (b) is intended to ensure accurate reporting and recordkeeping, promote trust in the Department, and maximize the ability of officers to focus their time and efforts on law enforcement and crime prevention as opposed to administrative tasks that remove officers from the field.

(c) Use of Force Policy. The Department's highest priority is to safeguard the life, dignity, and liberty of all persons. Consistent with this priority, in encounters with criminal suspects or others, it shall be Department policy when feasible for officers to use rapport-building communication, crisis intervention approaches, and de-escalation tactics before they resort to using force. Officers shall be required to provide a written report for uses of force only when (1) the use of force resulted in a physical injury, including where the officer believes the use of force is likely to have caused a physical injury or where a person has complained of a physical injury; or (2) an officer removed a firearm from a holster and pointed the firearm at a person or used it to compel a person to comply. In all other instances involving a reportable use of force, the officers shall satisfy these reporting requirements using body-worn cameras, to the maximum extent possible, consistent with subsection (b). The use of force policy shall also minimize duplicative reporting by multiple officers regarding the same incident.

r and pointed the firearm at a person or used it to compel a person to comply. In all other instances involving a reportable use of force, the officers shall satisfy these reporting requirements using body-worn cameras, to the maximum extent possible, consistent with subsection (b). The use of force policy shall also minimize duplicative reporting by multiple officers regarding the same incident.

(d) Vehicle Pursuit Policy. An officer may engage in a vehicle pursuit if the officer has reasonable suspicion or probable cause that a felony or violent misdemeanor crime has occurred, is occurring, or is about to occur. In evaluating whether to engage in a vehicle pursuit, the officer must weigh the seriousness of the crime and the likelihood that the pursuit will prevent the crime or lead to the apprehension of a suspect against the potential dangers to the community and officers; and to minimize the dangers from vehicle pursuits, officers shall be authorized to use unassisted aerial vehicles (“UAVs,” also known as “drones”) along with or in lieu of vehicle pursuits, consistent with all applicable City policies on data and privacy and subsection (e). The Department shall annually report to the Commission on the total number of vehicle pursuits; the reason(s) for the pursuits; the number of pursuits that resulted in a collision; the number of pursuits that resulted in death or injury to an officer or member of the public; and the number of pursuits that were found to be within or outside of policy.

(e) Technology Policy. The Department shall use technology to the maximum extent possible to improve its efficiency and effectiveness in combatting crime, and to reduce dangers to the public, subject to the City’s policies to protect privacy and civil liberties. Consistent with these principles:

(1) officers shall be authorized to use technologies such as body-worn cameras to comply with recordkeeping and reporting requirements as set forth in subsections (b) and (c);

(2) the Department shall have the authority to use UAVs along with or in lieu of vehicle pursuits as set forth in subsection (d), and to assist with active criminal investigations; and

(3) the City may not adopt or impose any new restrictions on the use of technology by the Department, unless such restrictions are approved by the Board of Supervisors pursuant to Section 96I.4;

provided, however, that the Department must use technology for legitimate law enforcement purposes only, rather than for the purpose of infringing on the lawful exercise of rights protected by the First Amendment; must not retain any public footage for longer than 30 days unless a sworn member holding the rank of Captain or higher has determined that a longer retention period is necessary due to an open criminal investigation; and must not allow any Department staff to access any public footage unless a sworn member holding the rank of Captain or higher has determined that access is necessary for an open criminal investigation; and provided further, that the Department’s use of UAVs under this subsection (e) shall not be subject to the requirements of Chapter 19B of the Administrative Code. (Added by Proposition E, 3/5/2024, Eff. 4/12/2024)

(a) The Commission and Department may adopt policies and procedures consistent with this Chapter 96I to implement this Chapter.

(b) This Chapter 96I shall override any conflicting provisions in ordinances, regardless of the effective date of any such ordinances. This Chapter 96I shall also override any conflicting provisions in Department General Orders, regardless of the effective date of any such orders, including without limitation Department General Orders 3.01 (Written Communication System), 5.01 (Use of Force), 5.03 (Investigative Detentions), 5.05 (Response and Pursuit Driving), and 5.06 (Citation Release); provided, however, that (1) conflicting provisions of Department General Orders shall remain operative until the Commission has revised them to comply with this Chapter, or until October 1, 2024, whichever is sooner, and (2) the community engagement process in Section 96I.1 will not be required with respect to these implementing revisions to existing Department General Orders.

(c) The Department shall provide appropriate training to officers on any revisions to the policies and procedures within six months after the revisions are adopted.

(Added by Proposition E, 3/5/2024, Eff. 4/12/2024)

Prior to January 1, 2027, the Board of Supervisors may by ordinance amend this Chapter 96I by supermajority of at least eight votes. Effective January 1, 2027, the Board of Supervisors may by ordinance amend this Chapter 96I by majority vote.

(Added by Proposition E, 3/5/2024, Eff. 4/12/2024)