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Manual of Policy and Procedures / Volume 3 - Policy and Ethics / Chapter 10 - Force Policy

3-10/300.00 - Deputy-Involved Shootings - General Provisions


3-10/210.00 - Use of Firearms on Animals
3-10/310.00 - Preliminary Responsibilities

Definitions:

  • Hit Shooting - Department member intentionally shoots at a person and any person is hit.

NOTE:  Any type of shooting by a Department member which results in a person being hit will be investigated and documented in the same manner as a “hit shooting.”  Exception: Incidents involving persons injured by gunfire at a Department range may or may not be handled according to the “hit shooting” protocol depending on the circumstances.

  • Non-Hit Shooting - Department member intentionally shoots at a person and no one is hit.
  • Warning Shot - Department member intentionally shoots as a warning, without intent to shoot at a person.
  • Animal Shootings - Department member intentionally shoots at an animal, whether or not an animal is hit.
  • Unintentional Discharge - The initial identification of an incident in which a firearm has been discharged by a Department member without the deliberate intention of the user of the firearm.
  • Shooting, Other - Department member intentionally shoots at an object.

Immediate action shall be taken to care for the injured, to apprehend suspects, and to protect the scene.  Assisting personnel should attempt to locate and identify any witnesses to the incident.  Deputies shall refrain from discussing the incident until the arrival of the first supervisor.  The involved personnel should briefly inform the supervisor of the circumstances surrounding the incident and what action has been taken.

The involved deputies shall then be immediately transported by a supervisor, if possible, or if not, by uninvolved deputies, to the station, unit of assignment or other suitable location.  Involved personnel shall refrain from discussing the incident with anyone else until after being interviewed by Homicide Bureau investigators, or in shootings where no one has been wounded or killed, until each has written a detailed report articulating the circumstances leading to the encounter, the hazards/threats faced by deputies or others, and the reasons that the decision to use deadly force was made.

The watch commander or supervising lieutenant is responsible for making an immediate verbal notification to Homicide Bureau following any incident in which shots fired by a deputy result in a person being hit, and in any incident in which a deputy is shot.  The watch commander or supervising lieutenant is also responsible for making an immediate verbal notification to the IAB on-call lieutenant following any deputy-involved shooting, including those in which no one is hit, as well as unintentional discharges, warning shots, and shooting at animals.  The watch commander shall make an immediate verbal notification to the unit commander anytime an IAB Force/Shooting Response Team is activated.  The watch commander shall respond to the location.  The involved employee’s unit commander shall respond to the location (if within Los Angeles County) when the employee, on or off duty, intentionally discharges a firearm at a person, whether or not anyone is hit, as well as to any type of shooting by the employee which results in a person being hit.  The station unit commander shall also respond to every hit and non-hit deputy-involved shooting (on or off duty) within their station jurisdiction regardless of the involved employee’s unit of assignment.

The Department duty commander or involved employee’s division commander shall also be verbally notified and shall respond to the location (if within Los Angeles County) when the employee, on or off duty, intentionally discharges a firearm at a person, whether or not anyone is hit, as well as to any type of shooting by the employee which results in a person being hit.  Exceptions must be approved by the involved employee’s division chief or division director.  If the location of the shooting is outside Los Angeles County, the involved employee’s division commander shall evaluate the incident and determine whether their immediate response is necessary.

Except under exigent circumstances, a deputy-involved shooting scene shall be kept intact and protected until the conclusion of Homicide Bureau's investigation and/or the IAB Force/Shooting Response Team review.  Expended brass, cartridges, magazines, etc., shall be left undisturbed.  Fired weapons should be holstered or secured, consistent with standard evidence retrieval and preservation methods.  Once secured, weapons shall not be handled or examined, except by Homicide Bureau investigators or by the IAB Force/Shooting Response Team personnel.  Should a weapon be discarded during an incident, it shall be left undisturbed if at all possible.

In any situation in which an IAB Force/Shooting Response Team responds and conducts a shooting review, the watch commander/supervising lieutenant shall cooperate with and assist team personnel in conducting the review; however, unit-level personnel will not produce a shots fired or incident review.  The watch commander/supervising lieutenant shall be responsible for securing the incident scene and identifying and sequestering witnesses as appropriate.  In deputy-involved shooting incidents, witness interviews shall be conducted by Homicide investigators or, when no hit has occurred, by the IAB Force/Shooting Response Team members.  The IAB Force/Shooting Response Team members may request unit-level supervisors to assist with witness interviews in "non-hit" shooting incidents.

All unintentional discharges will result in an administrative investigation.  Refer to the Guidelines for Handling Unintentional Discharges.