Independent Investigations Despite media portrayals , officers rarely use force . The rarest of these is the use of deadly force . When this occurs , agency leaders in Georgia recognize the need to have unbiased , independent investigations of these events and request the Georgia Bureau of Investigation ( GBI ) to conduct the investigation . While this is not mandatory , only a few agencies choose to not call the GBI for these investigations . After the investigation is completed , the Bureau provides a copy to the appropriate district attorney who typically presents it to the Grand Jury for review .
Agencies simultaneously conduct separate administrative investigations to determine if the individual violated the department ’ s policies . This enables agencies to take corrective when an officer ’ s conduct was not considered criminal , but violated the agency ’ s operating procedures .
The use of force is never pretty . Officers ’ decision to use force often occurs in tense , rapidly evolving circumstances . Evaluation of those actions must be evaluated using a standard of “ objective reasonableness ” based upon what the officer ( s ) knew at the time of the incident , without the benefit of 20 / 20 hindsight . 13
Georgia has taken extensive steps to ensure agencies have comprehensive guidelines for reporting misconduct to the state . With only a few exceptions , most records produced by government agencies , including employee personnel records , are open for public review . mistakenly or intentionally make bad decisions . They will . When this occurs , Georgia leaders have the enabling processes to ensure these events assessed in a critical and transparent manner .
In order to build trust with their communities , it is critical agency leaders do not assume their citizens know how Georgia ’ s law enforcement agencies differ from agencies in other states .
To accomplish this , leaders should use every possible opportunity to share how processes and standards ensure Georgia ’ s police agencies and their personnel are held to a much higher standard .
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1 Georgia POST Rule 464-3- . 14 Law Enforcement Officer Psychological Affidavit . 2 Georgia Post Rule 464-3- . 06 Notification Required by Employing Agency . Amended . 3 Georgia POST Rule : 464-3- . 05 Notification of Disciplinary Action . 4 Interview with Michael N . Becar , Executive Director , International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training ( IADLEST ), August 5 , 2020 . 5 Raymond A . Franklin , Matthew Hickman , Marc Hiller , Police Officer Certification Revocation Information Sharing ; National Public Safety Officer Decertification Database , 2009 Survey of Post Agencies Regarding Certification Practices , International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training ( IADLEST ). 2009 SURVEY OF POST AGENCIES REGARDING CERTIFICATION PRACTICES , July 2009 , p . 20 ,
file :/// G :/ Survey % 20of % 20POST % 20Agencies % 20Regarding % 20Certification % 20Practices % 20 2009 . pdf , Accessed 9 / 12 / 2020 . 6 Govea et al . v . City of Norcross et al . City of Chamblee v . Govea et al . 271 GA . App . 36 ; 608 S . E . 2d 677 ; 2004 , ( Decided November 23 , 2004 ) 7 O . C . G . A . 35-88-8- ( c ) ( 4 ) 8
https :// www . reuters . com / investigates / special-report / usa-police-unions / 9 It is important to note in the 2020 Legislative Session , the State of Georgia passed HB838 that provided officers to sue individuals or groups who knowing file a complaint they knew was false when it was filed . 10 Rushin , Stephen , “ Police Disciplinary Appeals ”, University of Pennsylvania Law Review , Vol . 167 , No . 3 ( Feb . 2019 ), p . 571 . 11 Jonathon Abel , “ Brady Blindspot : Impeachment Evidence in Police Personnel Files and the Battle Splitting the Prosecution Team ”, Stanford Law Review , Vol . 63 , P . 746 , ( April 2015 ). 12 I bid . 13 Graham V . Conner et al ., 490 U . S . at 397 ( 1989 )
Georgia is also an at-will employment state . This ensures bad officers cannot hide behind extensive appeals and outside arbitration that insulates poor performance . This is not to say that officers will not
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