The Champaign Police Department has completed its internal review of an incident that culminated in a weapons discharge in the alley near the 200 block of W. Columbia during the afternoon hours on November 20, 2012.
During an in-progress call for service on November 20, 2012, police officers were dispatched to a call involving a male suspect breaking out a second story window of a residence and attempting to pull someone out through the broken window. During this incident, a police officer fired two rounds at the tires of a fleeing vehicle. The vehicle was driven by a male suspect.
Per departmental policy, an internal investigation was conducted in accordance with the Firearms Discharge Investigation and Review policy. Policy statement 1.5 requires that a Professional Standards Investigation be completed in the event of an officer firearms discharge. See Policy and Procedure Manual for complete policy statement.
A Professional Standards Investigation was completed in order to:
1. Determine whether or not the firearm discharge was consistent with departmental policy
2. Evaluate training considerations
3. Evaluate policy considerations
4. Evaluate firearms equipment
5. Evaluate the quality of supervision prior to, during, and after the firearm discharge incident
The Firearms Discharge Review Board (“Board”) evaluated each aspect of a firearms discharge, and made findings and recommendations to the Chief of Police in the following areas:
1. Use of force analysis
2. Weapons requirement
3. Quality of supervision
4. Firearms / equipment considerations
5. Policy considerations
6. Training considerations
NEXT STEPS:
The Chief of Police is reviewing the findings and recommendations of the Professional Standards Investigation and Firearms Discharge Review Board to determine and implement the following:
1. What, if any, disciplinary action for the involved officer is warranted.
2. Whether additional training will be required.
– Consistent with the Board’s recommendation and given the importance of the Use of Force Policy (1.3), in addition to the fact that there have been three (3) weapons discharged by members of this Department in the past 90 days, the policy will be reviewed by all sworn employees on a more regular basis. The Chief plans to implement a quarterly refresher through the department’s Policy and Procedure Manager (PPM), training bulletins, and/or shift briefings.
3. Whether policy changes are required.
– Consistent with the Board’s recommendation, Policy 1.5 will be revised to require that a certified Department armorer complete a functional weapons inspection of each firearm that is discharged, regardless of whether or not a malfunction is alleged or suspected.