Police Departments Required to Adopt Additional Policies for Officer-Involved Shootings

Recent changes went into effect for the Police and Community Relations Improvement Act (“Act”). The Act originally went into effect in 2016 and requires all law enforcement agencies to have a written policy addressing investigations into officer-involved deaths.

The amendment adds an additional requirement that law enforcement agencies must adopt a written policy mandating drug and alcohol testing of an officer-involved in an “officer-involved shooting,” as soon as practicable, but no later than the end of the officer’s shift in which the shooting occurred.

Changes to drug and alcohol testing policies are typically considered a subject of mandatory union bargaining, and police departments should consider whether a discussion with any bargaining units may be necessary prior to implementing the changes. In this case, the new state law will preempt any request by a union to lower the mandatory policy requirements, but there may be considerations that a union may wish to address within a compliant policy.

Law enforcement agencies should review the Act’s additional requirements and should also consider how unions may be implicated by any policy change involving drug and alcohol testing.