Citizen Complaints Against Officers
2007 1st Quarter
All citizen complaints against officers are documented and investigated by the department’s supervisors. Once the investigation is complete it is reviewed by the Section Commander, Division Commander and then forwarded to the Office of the Chief where the decision is made as to the finding of the complaint. Complaints questioning the basis for a citation or arrest are not documented and those complainants are advised to go through the court system.
There are four different categories of complaint findings:
- Sustained - The investigation produced a preponderance of evidence to prove the allegation did in fact occur and the action of the officer was improper.
- Not Sustained - The investigation failed to produce a preponderance of evidence to either prove or disprove the allegation.
- Exonerated - The allegation in fact did occur but the actions of the officer were legal, justified, proper, and in accordance with the law and the department’s policies and procedures.
- Unfounded - The allegation in fact did not occur, based on the evidence.
Throughout the 1st quarter of 2007, the Sioux Falls Police Department responded to 17,798 calls for service. 8,470 traffic stops were made. 15,681 citations were issued, 2,146 adult arrests and 553 juvenile arrests were made.
During this period, there were two citizen’s complaints against officers. The findings for these complaints are as follows:
Sustained - 0
Not Sustained - 0
Exonerated - 0
Unfounded - 2
The following is a summary of each of those complaints:
- Officers were sent to investigate a report of a possible domestic assault at a residence. When they arrived occupants of the residence were refusing to allow the officers in and had barricaded the door. The officers eventually got into the house and observed several knives lying about the house. An officer observed a man who was concealing his hands and asked that he show his hands. The man refused and the officer made several verbal commands which the man ignored. The officer struggled with the man who at one point was struck in the groin by the officer’s knee. The man later complained the officer used excessive force. After a review of the incident it was determined the officer used only the necessary force to get the man under control and the strike to the groin was inadvertent during the struggle. The complaint was unfounded.
- Officers were sent to a 911 hang up call from a residence. The officers could not get anyone to answer the door and made the decision to force the door open to ensure anyone inside was safe. The officers found that the residence was not occupied and requested for a supervisor to come to the residence to take photos of the door. The resident of the house later complained that the officers damaged the door for no reason. During the investigation of the complaint the resident admitted he may have damaged the door earlier when he forced entrance himself after locking his keys in the house. The complaint was unfounded.
