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Employee Conduct Complaint

Employee Conduct Complaint

The Russell Police Department encourages any citizen who believes he or she has a valid grievance to file a complaint. Only by knowing about these incidents can the Police Department properly investigate and take the appropriate action to address citizen concerns. To expedite this process and gather the facts involved as accurately as possible, you are asked to provide a written statement regarding your complaint.

The primary objectives of internal investigations are:

Protection of the Public. The public has a right to expect efficient, fair and impartial law enforcement. Therefore, any misconduct by Department personnel must be detected, thoroughly investigated and properly adjudicated to assure these qualities.

Protection of the Employee. Employees must be protected against false allegations of misconduct. This can only be accomplished through a consistently thorough investigative process. 

Correction of Procedural Problems. The Department is constantly seeking to improve its efficiency and the efficiency of its personnel. Internal investigations occasionally disclose faulty policies and procedures that would otherwise go undetected. These procedures can then be improved or corrected. 

Why File a Complaint?

Law enforcement personnel face some of the greatest challenges of any profession. They must enforce the law in a fair and impartial manner, protect the rights of all parties involved, and make split second decisions in what can all too often be dangerous and complex situations. Officers are human, however, and they do make mistakes. Mistakes by police personnel might not be detected and corrected by police management unless a citizen files a complaint. 

When Should You File a Complaint?

If you feel that you have been treated improperly, or are the victim of racial or biased based profiling, you should file a complaint to allow the Police Department the opportunity to investigate and respond to your concerns. 

HOW THE PROCESS WORKS

1. A Complaint is Filed

You may file a report in person, by mail or phone. 

To file a complaint in person or by phone contact the Captain or Chief of Police located at 339 E. 8^{th St., Russell KS 67665 (785) 483-2121 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Captain or Chief of Police may not be immediately available, but will contact you in a timely manner. You may also leave a message and you will be contacted.}

To file a complaint by mail, you may complete a Citizen Complaint Form

Please be prepared to provide as much information as possible about the incident which led to your complaint, the time and date of occurrence, location, the employee's name (if known) and the names and telephone numbers of any witnesses. To gather the facts as accurately as possible, you are asked to provide a written statement regarding your complaint. 

2. The Complaint is Investigated

Once a complaint is filed, it is assigned to the appropriate supervisor in the employee's chain of command for investigation. If the complaint is not filed in person, the investigating officer will normally contact the complainant, either by telephone or in person, in order to obtain further information and/or clarify issues. A thorough and objective investigation will be conducted, and an investigative finding will normally be reached within thirty days of receipt of the complaint. 

THE DECISION ON YOUR COMPLAINT

When the investigation is completed, you will receive a letter from the Chief of Police, informing you of the decision reached, and the reason(s) for that decision. Decisions concerning alleged employee misconduct are settled in one of five ways:

• Unfounded – The investigation conclusively proved that the act complained of did not occur. This finding also applies when an individual employee named in the complaint was not involved in the act which may have occurred.
• Exonerated – The act which provided the basis for the complaint or allegation occurred; however, the investigation revealed that the act was justified, lawful and proper.
• Not Sustained – The investigation failed to disclose sufficient evidence to clearly prove the allegation made in the complaint or to conclusively disprove such allegation.
• Sustained – The investigation disclosed sufficient evidence to clearly prove the allegation made in the complaint.
• Sustained Against Policy – The investigation revealed a faulty policy and/or procedure. 

If the allegation is sustained against an employee, the Chief of Police will take proper corrective measures. 

Based on the results on the investigation, the Chief may take administrative action, as warranted. The letter you will receive will not disclose the specifics of any resulting disciplinary action, since any action taken is a personnel matter. Corrective actions available to the Chief of Police include counseling, training, reprimand, suspension, demotion and, when warranted, a recommendation to the City Manager that the employee be terminated from the City and Police service. 

If you have any questions or concerns relative to the handling of the complaint, or its disposition, address the Chief of Police. Complaints which involve racial profiling may also be filed with the Kansas Human Rights Commission at 900 S.W. Jackson, Suite 568-S Topeka, Kansas 66612-1258 or by telephone (785) 296-3206; fax (785) 296-0589; TTY (785) 296-0245; or toll free (888) 793-6874

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