More Police Questions

apgambrell · Apr 26, 2014

Sorry for the vague title but I didn't know how to word it.

I'm wondering what happens after a suspect dies. Are the officers involved put on admin duty or suspended while the investigation goes on or is that only in the case of an officer related shooting? In my story, a suspect dies but it is because he ran away from the police. Two different departments were involved but it was my MC's main suspect, if that helps any.

Hendo · Apr 27, 2014

What did he die of? Was he shot? If so, were the officers justified in the shooting? If they weren't justified they would be suspended during the investigation. But even if they were, standard procedure in my state at least, is that they would be put on temporary leave. Not because they're in trouble but because it's a mental health thing. Shooting someone, especially for the first time can really mess with someone's mind. In fact, it's not uncommon for officers to retire because of it.

apgambrell · Apr 27, 2014

He ran off of a boarding gangway at an airport (it wasn't extended because the plane wasn't there) and fell to his death. He was already handcuffed and Miranda'ed by the other department (Not my MCs) but bolted as the transfer of custody was taking place.

No shots were fired, the suspect just managed to get away and ran for the closest exit he saw.

jclarkdawe · Apr 27, 2014

In the case of an escaped prisoner being fatally injured, the officer(s) responsible for the well-being of the prisoner will probably be suspended with pay. When someone is a prisoner of the police, the police are responsible for taking care of that individual. Failure to do so is a significant failure, and an investigation needs to be done.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

apgambrell · Apr 27, 2014

So, since the escape and ultimate death happened during the transfer of custody, would my MCs and the officer from the other department all have to be suspended until everything got sorted out?

jclarkdawe · Apr 27, 2014

Initially, all involved officers should be suspended.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

apgambrell · Apr 27, 2014

Okay good. Then I'm on the right track.

ironmikezero · Apr 27, 2014

Suspensions depend upon departmental policies (and any applicable statutory requirements, of course), which in turn tend to be based upon resource availability and allocation.

In your proposed scenario (prisoner attempting to escape succumbs to accidental self-inflicted injuries), a smaller department may not have the resources/manpower in reserve to initiate suspensions (unless otherwise specified, suspended personnel are still being paid). Consequently, involved personnel might be temporarily reassigned to some sort of desk-bound duty during the pendancy of the initial criminal investigation and the subsequent (and inevitable) IA inquiry.

What does your story need?

apgambrell · Apr 27, 2014

The department is small but it is also a relatively quiet town where one of my MCs doesn't get many cases. She's homicide, the other MC is crime scene investigation BUT he tends to pull double duty because he is also a police officer when he is needed (remember, small town department). He was with her when the suspect was sighted so he got to go along as her back-up to bring the suspect back.

So I'm guessing that, since it is a small town, My female lead will either get suspended (since they don't need her that often [The murders in my story are the first to happen in the town in over twenty years]) or put on desk duty and the male lead will have some sort of desk duty assigned as well. All I'm really sure of is that there will be some sort of investigation they have to get through.

ironmikezero · Apr 28, 2014

Small departments don't typically have a homicide unit within the Criminal Investigations Division (CID). If there are enough personnel, most departments have three basic sections; administration/support, patrol, and criminal investigation. For your CID unit, think in terms of a handful of detectives who are usually assigned cases within two categories; crimes against persons, and property crimes.

Unless your story needs this much (or more) supportive detail, I'd recommend keeping it simple - especially with a smallish LE agency.

apgambrell · Apr 28, 2014

So should I change my homicide detective to just a regular detective so it makes more sense? Would a small department have a CSI person on staff?

ironmikezero · Apr 28, 2014

Yes, just go with detective assigned to crimes against persons within CID.

It's possible that the agency could have personnel assigned CSI duties, but it's more likely certain (qualified and/or certified) personnel would be tasked with those responsibilities as collateral duties, and be called upon to perform those duties as the needs arose.

Remember to keep it simple.

cmhbob · Apr 30, 2014

And if the escape happened during the transfer, there's going to be a fair amount of "he was your prisoner, not ours" finger-pointing going on. Cops have been known to argue over where a crash occurred in relation to a jurisdictional line, and measure it to be sure. No one wants the paperwork or the responsibility of a dead prisoner.

kenpochick · Apr 30, 2014

My husband is a cop and I work in forensics. He works for a Department for a town of just over 15,000 people. There is no homicide division. There is patrol, detectives, supervision and administration. That's it. Also for our entire state there is one forensics lab which includes crime scene investigation. It's rare that a police department has a crime scene unit at all (cities do), and a small town would definitely not.

patskywriter · Apr 30, 2014

Mind you, I was born in a huge city so my question might be off base … Would a quiet, small town even have an airport? And if so, would the airport be large enough to have hubs with boarding gangways? I did visit a small town once that shared a "regional" airport with some neighboring towns — but even that airport was so small that the passengers boarded the (undersized) airplanes right there on the field.

apgambrell · Apr 30, 2014

kenpochick said:
My husband is a cop and I work in forensics. He works for a Department for a town of just over 15,000 people. There is no homicide division. There is patrol, detectives, supervision and administration. That's it. Also for our entire state there is one forensics lab which includes crime scene investigation. It's rare that a police department has a crime scene unit at all (cities do), and a small town would definitely not.

I'm thinking about making the CSI guys from the lab in town and they get sent to the small town to do the CSI work and take the evidence back to the county seat for processing.

apgambrell · Apr 30, 2014

patskywriter said:
Mind you, I was born in a huge city so my question might be off base … Would a quiet, small town even have an airport? And if so, would the airport be large enough to have hubs with boarding gangways? I did visit a small town once that shared a "regional" airport with some neighboring towns — but even that airport was so small that the passengers boarded the (undersized) airplanes right there on the field.

The airport is up the road in the county seat, which happens to be a fictional large city (about the size of Fort Worth, TX) with a big airport. That's why there's another department involved in the arrest as well.

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