Principles for Public Safety Employment

c. Citizen Complaints Each agency must establish a procedure to investigate complaints by members of the public against peace officer personnel and must make a written description of the procedure available to the public. 397 Agencies have a ministerial duty to follow these polices, enforceable by writ of mandate. 398 i. Citizen Complaints Must Be Retained at Least Five (5) Years Citizen complaints and any reports or findings relating to citizen complaints must be retained for at least five years. All such records may be maintained either in the officer’s general personnel file or in a separate file designated by the employer. 399 ii. General Personnel File Defined “General personnel file” means the file containing the primary records specific to each officer's employment, including evaluations, assignments, status changes, and imposed discipline. 400 iii. Where the Finding is Frivolous, Unfounded, or Exonerated, a Citizen Complaint Must be Maintained Separately from an Officer’s General Personnel File Complaints (or any portion thereof) determined by the employer to be frivolous, unfounded or exonerated may not be maintained in the officer’s general personnel file. If and when a frivolous, unfounded or exonerated complaint is removed from an officer’s personnel file, any reference in the officer’s personnel file shall be deleted.  Frivolous Defined: Totally and completely without merit or for the sole purpose of harassing an opposing party. 401  Unfounded Defined: The investigation clearly established that the allegation is not true. 402  Exonerated Defined: The investigation clearly established that the actions of the peace officer that formed the basis for the complaint are not violations of law or department policy. 403 iv. Access to, and Use of Frivolous, Unfounded, or Exonerated Citizen Complaints is Strictly Limited  Only management of the peace officer’s employing agency shall have access to such files;  Frivolous, unfounded and exonerated complaints shall not be used for punitive or promotional purposes;  Management may nonetheless use such complaints to identify officers who require counseling and/or additional training. 404 v. Internally Generated Complaints No case has addressed the issue whether an internally generated complaint (e.g., an officer complains that another officer from the same agency used excessive force) is to be considered a

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