December 9, 2010
Orange County District Attorney's Office
SANTA ANA - Orange County District Attorney (OCDA) Tony Rackauckas made the
following statement today:
Starting today, I am changing the Office's policy and procedure by publicly
providing the factual findings and legal conclusion after conducting our
officer-involved shooting and custodial death investigations.
Our decision to change our policy began when Chief John Welter of the
Anaheim Police Department came to me requesting the OCDA include factual
findings and more information in our letter to police departments concluding
the Office's investigation of officer-involved shooting and custodial death
cases. With the buy-in from all police chiefs and the Orange County Sheriff,
we have been working together to come up with a protocol which balances the
public's right to know the facts behind the discharge of police officers'
weapons, facts behind deaths of persons under police custody, and police
officers' legal rights and safety concerns.
INVESTIGATION
The OCDA's procedure when conducting investigations and arriving at the
legal conclusion will remain the same. The OCDA Bureau's Special Assignments
Unit (OCDASAU) responds within minutes to the scene and investigates a
majority of all officer- involved shootings and custodial deaths that occur
in Orange County. OCDASAU is responsible for investigating officer-involved
shootings within Orange County when someone has been killed or injured by
police gunfire and when someone dies under police custody.
An OCDASAU Investigator is assigned as case agent and supported by other
Investigators from the Unit and other units. There are six full-time
Investigators assigned to OCDASAU. There are 25 additional OCDA
Investigators assigned to other units trained to assist when needed. On
average, eight investigators respond to the incident within an hour of being
called and perform a variety of investigative functions including
interviewing witnesses, canvassing neighborhoods, processing crime scenes,
collecting evidence, and processing vehicles. OCDASAU audio record all
interviews and physical evidence is processed by the Orange County Crime
Lab.
Following OCDASAU's conclusion of an investigation, the file is turned over
to a deputy district attorney for legal review. A veteran deputy district
attorney of the Homicide or Gang Unit reviews the case for criminal filing
in fatal officer-involved shootings and custodial deaths. A veteran deputy
district attorney of the Special Prosecutions Unit reviews non-fatal
officer-involved shooting investigations for criminal filing. Throughout
this process, consultation between the reviewing prosecutor and his or her
supervisor occurs, and an assistant district attorney will review their
legal conclusion and the resulting memo. Often, the case may be reviewed by
multiple veteran prosecutors including the senior assistant district
attorneys, Chief of Staff, and me. The case may be sent back for further
investigation if necessary.
The OCDA will conduct an independent and thorough investigation of the facts
and circumstances of this event and impartially review all available
evidence and legal standards. The scope of this review and findings are
expressly limited to a determination of whether or not any criminal conduct
occurred. The OCDA will not be addressing policy, training, tactics or civil
liability.
Each year, OCDASAU conducts an average of 14 custodial death and 16
officer-involved shooting investigations. These complex and time-consuming
investigations require conducting numerous interviews, completing detailed
reports, analyzing evidence, coordinating with involved agencies, and
submitting all reports and materials for legal review.
LEGAL CONCLUSIONS
Previously, a short letter was sent following the completion of a factual
finding and legal conclusion to the chief of the involved police department
stating whether the OCDA was filing criminal charges. The letter stated the
OCDA's legal finding without detailing factual findings. On occasion, the
OCDA would conduct informational sessions with the media and public and
provide additional facts regarding the investigation.
As of today, evidenced by the letter involving the shooting of Colby Koenig
in 2010 by officers from the Laguna Beach Police Department, the OCDA will
be sending a letter to the police department detailing OCDA's investigation,
methodology and overview of the procedures employed, evidence examined,
witnesses interviewed, factual findings, legal analysis, and legal
conclusion determining whether there was criminal culpability by the officer
involved in the shooting. The letter titled "OCDA OIS Report (LBPD
01-12-2010)" is available at www.orangecountyda.com.
If the OCDA had filed a criminal filing against anyone involved in the
incident, the factual findings will not be made public until the end of the
trial and/or sentencing.
I hope this new format will foster greater accountability and transparency
in law enforcement and develop greater public confidence and understanding
in the integrity of the process.
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