Citizen Complaints Against Officers
2008 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 2008, the Sioux Falls Police Department responded to 18,443 calls for service. 6,462 traffic stops were made. 10,903 citations were issued, 2,027 adult arrests and 530 juvenile arrests were made.
During this period, there were three citizen’s complaints against officers. The findings for these complaints are as follows:
| Sustained - |
0 |
| Not Sustained - |
1 |
| Exonerated - |
0 |
| Unfounded - |
1 |
| Pending - |
1 |
The following is a summary of each of those complaints:
Officers made a traffic stop on a car that was involved in a weapons violation at a bar. The occupants were taken out of the car at gunpoint and handcuffed. An officer searched the driver for identification and retrieved a wallet from his pocket. Once the officer obtained the information the wallet was placed back into the man’s pocket. The man was taken to jail for drug related offenses. He later complained that his wallet was missing. After an investigation by the officer’s supervisors it could not determined if the officer was responsible for the missing wallet. The complaint was not sustained.
During that same traffic stop, a male passenger was placed under arrest for drug charges. He was transported to the county jail and later complained an officer had placed his handcuffs on too tight. Supervisors reviewed the officer’s video which indicated after the man was placed in handcuffs at the stop he told an officer they were too tight on one of his wrists. The officer adjusted them and checked the other wrist to ensure they both were placed properly. During the ride to the jail the man said nothing about the handcuffs still being too tight; only casual conversation between himself and the officer. It was determined the officer followed proper procedure. The complaint was unfounded.
A man was stopped for traffic violations. The officer who stopped him could smell a strong odor of marijuana both in the man’s vehicle and on him. The officer ran a warrant check and discovered there was an outstanding warrant for him. While placing the man under arrest the officer searched him and found an amount of cash in one of his pockets. He placed the cash on the seat of his patrol car along with other items that were in his pockets. Once he completed the search he placed the items back into the man’s pockets. He later complained that when he got to the jail he was missing $200.00. The complaint is being reviewed and the finding is pending.
