Washington Administrative Code › Title 139 - Criminal Justice Training Commission › Chapter 139-12 - Law Enforcement Training and Community Safety Act-Independent Investigations Criteria (LETCSA) › Section 139-12-020 - Definitions Best practices

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
Best practices
- For the purpose of this chapter,
				best practices are defined as methods, techniques, and procedures that have
				consistently shown by research and experience to produce superior results and
				are established or proposed as a standard, suitable for widespread adoption in
				the law enforcement profession.
Completed investigation
- The final work product
				of the IIT for the purpose of informing the prosecuting attorney's charging
				decision. An independent investigation must be completed to inform any
				determination of whether the use of deadly force met the good faith standard
				established in
				RCW
				9A.16.040 and satisfied other applicable laws
				and policies.
Deadly force
- As set forth in
				RCW
				9A.16.010, "deadly force" means the
				intentional application of force through the use of firearms or any other means
				reasonably likely to cause death or serious physical injury.
Evanescent evidence
- Physical evidence that may
				be degraded or tainted by human or environmental factors if left unprotected or
				unpreserved for the arrival of the independent investigative team (IIT);
				identification and contact information for witnesses to the incident;
				photographs and other methods of documenting the location of physical evidence
				and location/perspective of witnesses.
Good faith standard
- As set forth in
				RCW
				9A.16.040, ""good faith" is an objective
				standard which shall consider all the facts, circumstances, and information
				known to the officer at the time to determine whether a similarly situated
				reasonable officer would have believed that the use of deadly force was
				necessary to prevent death or serious physical harm to the officer or another
				individual."
Great bodily harm
- As set forth in
				RCW
				9A.04.110, "great bodily harm" means bodily
				injury which creates a probability of death, or which causes significant
				serious permanent disfigurement, or which causes a significant permanent loss
				or impairment of the function of any bodily part or organ.
Independent investigative team (IIT)
- A team of
				qualified and certified peace officer investigators, civilian crime scene
				specialists, and at least two non-law enforcement community representatives who
				operate completely independent of any involved agency to conduct investigations
				of police deadly force incidents. An IIT is created when multiple law
				enforcement agencies enter into a written agreement to investigate police use
				of deadly force incidents in their geographical regions. A single law
				enforcement agency may fulfill the independent investigative function, provided
				it is not the involved agency.
Initial incident response
- This is the period in
				time immediately following a police use of deadly force incident, and prior to
				the arrival of the IIT, when involved agency personnel on scene and other first
				responders immediately take actions to render the scene safe and provide or
				facilitate life-saving first aid to persons at the scene who have life
				threatening injuries.
Involved agency
- The agency that employs or
				supervises the officer(s) who used deadly force. There can be more than one
				"involved agency."
Member Agency -
Each of the agencies that enters
				into a written agreement to investigate police use of deadly force in their
				geographical region.
Necessary
- As set forth in
				RCW
				9A.16.010, "necessary" means that no
				reasonably effective alternative to the use of force appeared to exist and that
				the amount of force used was reasonable to effect the lawful purpose
				intended.
Prosecutor's review
- The period of time when the
				IIT presents a completed investigation to the prosecutor, who then reviews all
				the facts and makes a charging decision.
Substantial bodily harm
- As set forth in
				RCW
				9A.04.-110, "substantial bodily harm" means
				bodily injury which involves a temporary but substantial disfigurement, or
				which causes a temporary but substantial loss or impairment of the function of
				any bodily part or organ, or which causes a fracture of any bodily part.
Reviser's note:
The brackets and enclosed
				  material in the text of the above section occurred in the copy filed by the
				  agency and appear in the Register pursuant to the requirements of
				  RCW
				  34.08.040.
Reviser's note:
The spelling error in the above
				  section occurred in the copy filed by the agency and appears in the Register
				  pursuant to the requirements of
				  RCW
				  34.08.040.