Category 1 or Category 2 Use of Force Incidents
Department members involved in or witnessing Category 1 or Category 2 use of force incidents shall be permitted to review body worn camera (BWC) recordings and, if deemed necessary by the handling supervisor, review other recordings to ensure complete and accurate reports and documentation of the incident.
Category 3 Use of Force Incidents, Including Deputy-Involved Shootings
Department members involved in or witnessing known Category 3 use of force incidents, including deputy-involved shootings, shall not view any recordings until authorized by the handling Internal Affairs Bureau (IAB) lieutenant or, in cases where IAB does not handle the matter, the handling Homicide Bureau lieutenant or watch commander.
Once authorized, the Department member shall have a right to review their BWC recording and any other relevant video recording in possession of the Department, as deemed appropriate by the assigned lieutenant, prior to being interviewed.
A Department member may have an employee representative present during the review of the BWC recording(s) without any investigator or supervisor present. The separation and monitoring of Department members involved in a shooting shall be maintained during the review of BWC recording(s) and such review shall not occur jointly among involved members.
Supervisor’s Responsibilities
Following a known Category 3 use of force incident, including deputy-involved shootings, the on-scene supervisor shall, once the scene is secured:
Take possession of all BWCs devices from involved personnel;
Power off the devices and secure them;
Turn the devices over to the handling lieutenant or watch commander; and
Upload the video and secure the viewing rights, or ensure a member of the Body Worn Camera Unit (BWCU) does so.
For deputy-involved hit shootings and in-custody deaths, the handling Homicide Bureau lieutenant will authorize the review of video by the involved Department member. For non-hit shootings and known Category 3 use of force incidents, the IAB force shooting response team lieutenant will authorize the review of video by the involved Department member. For Category 3 use of force incidents not handled by Homicide Bureau or IAB, the unit watch commander will authorize the review of video by the involved Department member.