OAR 291-013-0140: Reviews

(1) General: (a) Whenever staff employs force in response to an incident involving an adult in custody, a preliminary review of the use of force incident shall be conducted in accordance with the procedures established in these rules. (b) A full review of a use of force incident shall be conducted by independent departmental review in accordance with the procedures established in these rules when requested by the Inspector General, or when the following circumstances exist: (A) A person received a serious physical injury in the course of the use of force incident; or (B) A firearm was discharged during the incident, as defined in the firearms section of OAR 291-013-0105. (c) The Inspector General may decide if the full review process for the incident requires assembly of a departmental review team to conduct the full review, or order a separate investigation be conducted by a special investigator from the Investigations Unit. (2) Preliminary Review: (a) The officer-in-charge shall conduct a preliminary review of all use of force incidents within 48 hours of the incident. (b) Staff involved in the use of force incident shall prepare, assemble and provide to the officer-in-charge all information and records that are relevant to the incident, including but not limited to reports, documents, videos, and photographs of involved persons and witnesses. Staff and/or adults in custody may be interviewed as necessary to clarify or obtain relevant information. The officer-in-charge shall review the information and records to ensure the documentation of the incident is complete. (c) The officer-in-charge shall review the documentation for compliance with administrative directives and prepare a preliminary review report. The officer-in-charge shall forward the preliminary review report and supporting documentation to the Assistant Superintendent of Security/security manager, with one of the following recommendations: (A) In compliance with administrative directives, requires only a preliminary review; and (i) No further action is required; or (ii) Further corrective action is required by the functional unit manager or designee to address perceived training, security, or other operational issues; (B) In compliance with administrative directives, but requires a full review; or (C) Not in compliance with administrative directives, but requires only a preliminary review because appropriate corrective action has been taken by the functional unit manager or designee; or (D) Not in compliance with administrative directives and requires a full review. (d) The Assistant Superintendent of Security/security manager shall review the preliminary review report and all supporting documentation and make any necessary modification or additions he/she deems necessary. The review shall include a preliminary review of the video footage and all associated reports. The preliminary review report and supporting documentation shall be forwarded to the functional unit manager. (e) The functional unit manager shall review the preliminary review report and all supporting documentation and make any necessary modification or additions deemed necessary. The review shall include a preliminary review of the video footage and all associated reports. The functional unit manager shall document all corrective action taken. If the functional unit manager notes signs of excessive force, they shall notify the appropriate Institutions Administrator directly and provide necessary documents, so that there is no undue delay in initiating a full review or separate investigation. The functional unit manager shall make their recommendation on the preliminary review and forward the preliminary review and supporting documentation to the Institutions Administrator. (f) The Institutions Administrator shall review the preliminary review report and supporting documentation. The Institutions Administrator may determine no further review is required. If the Institutions Administrator determines a full review is warranted, all relevant information will be forwarded to the Inspector General or designee for further review. (g) All preliminary review reports and supporting documentation will be forwarded the Office of Inspector General for record retention. (3) Full Review: (a) When a full review of a use of force incident is requested by the Institutions Administrator and approved by the Inspector General or otherwise required under these rules, a departmental review team shall be assembled to conduct the full review, or a separate investigation shall be conducted by a special investigator from the Investigations Unit. (b) The departmental review team shall include, at a minimum, a representative from Special Investigations assigned by the Inspector General and a representative from two separate functional units other than the functional unit in which the incident took place. The functional unit representatives may include a represented employee. The Special Investigations representative shall chair the review team and arrange for the appointment of the review team members in consultation with the functional unit managers. (c) The departmental review team shall review the final preliminary review report and all supporting documentation for compliance with administrative directives. (d) If any member of the review team deems it necessary or advisable to have additional staff or adult in custody interviews conducted, the review team chair shall arrange for an Investigations Unit employee(s) to conduct the interview(s). (e) If the review team chair determines that a crime may have been committed in the course of the use of force incident, the review team chair shall contact the State Police or local law enforcement officials before arranging for any additional interview(s), to determine if the law enforcement officials are conducting a criminal investigation regarding the incident, and if so, whether the additional interview(s) would interfere with the investigation. (f) If advised that the interview(s) would interfere with a pending criminal investigation, the interview(s) shall be postponed until the criminal investigation has been concluded. (g) Evaluation Report: (A) After completing the review process, the review team shall prepare and submit its evaluation report to the Inspector General within 30 working days following completion of the full review. (B) The report shall set forth the departmental review team’s determination whether the actions taken were in compliance with Department of Corrections administrative directive(s). (C) If the review team finds evidence of noncompliance, it shall specify these findings and the rationale upon which the findings have been based in its report. (D) The Inspector General shall review the report for completeness and forward it to the functional unit manager, appropriate Institutions Administrator, and Assistant Director of Operations for review and any necessary action.