San Leandro Municipal Code Art. 4 General Responsibilities

Regardless of assignment, officers shall take prompt, proper police action with respect to violations of laws and ordinances, as observed by them, or coming to their attention.

No officer of the department shall fail to assist or protect their fellow officer in time of danger, or fail to take effective action where danger might reasonably be impending, except where they are actually incapacitated.

No member shall for the purpose of personal preferment, advantage, transfer, advancement, or any other personal action, seek the influence or intervention of any person not an employee of the department. Reference §406, Article IV, City Charter.

No officer of the department shall serve civil process nor shall they officially intervene in civil matters, except as required by law to prevent a breach of this peace, commission of a crime, or as directed by a Commanding Officer.

(a) Notification of Superior on Service of Civil Subpoena. Whenever any department in the City of San Leandro is involved in a civil matter which results in the subpoena of a member of the Police Department, the member shall immediately notify their Command Officer of the service of the subpoena.

(b) Improper Use of Official Position in Civil Cases. No member shall use their official position with the department as a means of coercion or intimidation of persons, businesses, or organizations with whom they may be engaged in a civil dispute, to settle the dispute or civil action in the favor of such member.

(c) Notification—Payment, Service-Connected Injury. Members shall notify the Chief of Police in writing immediately upon accepting payment for damages or personal injury incurred in line of duty.

(d) Interviews with Attorneys—Investigators. For the protection of officers and the department, all interviews between members of the department, and attorneys or other persons interested in any case arising out of the departmental employment, shall take place in the presence of, or with the knowledge of a Command Officer of the department.

No member shall suggest or recommend any person or firm engaged in the business of furnishing bail to any persons desiring bail, except to the member's immediate family.

No member shall recommend or counsel the retention of a specific attorney to any prisoner or other person involved in a criminal or civil case of interest to this department, except to the member's immediate family.

No member shall knowingly buy or accept any article for personal disposition from any person in custody, any person suspected of criminal acts, or any associate or relative of such person.

No member shall for personal reasons or benefit interfere with any criminal court action or use their official position to arrange for any person charged or suspected of a crime to escape prosecution.

Except as protected by the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, no member receiving or possessing any facts or information relative to a criminal offense or investigation shall, for personal reasons or self-aggrandizement, fail to promptly report such facts or information to the Bureau, Division, or Section of the department concerned.

(a) Advising Another to Withhold Information. No member of the department shall advise, counsel, order, or otherwise dissuade any other member from making a lawful or proper report either on criminal investigations or departmental matters.