§ 172.30. Complaint filing, preliminary review and investigation.

(a) Complaint filing. Any person who has personal knowledge of alleged misconduct on the part of a Minneapolis police officer may file a complaint with the office of police conduct review by submitting said complaint by means of any readily available method approved by the office. The office shall endeavor to facilitate the complaint filing process by providing multiple and accessible avenues for the filing of complaints. Absent extenuating circumstances deemed sufficient to warrant untimely filing, no person may file a complaint if more than two hundred seventy (270) days have elapsed since the alleged misconduct.

(b)

Complaint review. All complaints shall be jointly and collaboratively assessed and preliminarily reviewed by supervisory staff of the office from both the civilian unit and the internal affairs unit. A complaint may be declined with no further action required pursuant to the authority and discretion of the office if, on its face, it fails to allege a violation within the purview and jurisdiction of the office. A complaint may also be referred to another more appropriate governmental agency or, in the case of allegations which rise only to a potential "A" level infraction under the police department's adopted discipline matrix, may be referred to a program of mandatory mediation instituted by the office of police conduct review or directly to the officer's supervisor for coaching. Such complaints may also, pursuant to the authority and discretion of the office, be referred for formal investigation pursuant to subsection (c).

(c)

Complaint investigation. All other qualifying complaints shall be formally investigated by the office through assignment to an investigator or investigators from the civilian unit and/or the internal affairs unit. The office shall endeavor to complete any reviews and investigations as promptly and efficiently as possible, given the staffing and workload of the office. Any complaint alleging criminal misconduct by an officer shall be investigated by the internal affairs unit. Complaints not alleging criminal misconduct may be assigned to the civilian unit at the formal request of a complainant. The investigative report shall be in a format designated by the office and all final reports shall be reviewed and approved by supervisory staff of the office from both the civilian unit and the internal affairs unit. The investigative report shall not include any recommendation or conclusion regarding the merits of the complaint.

(d)

Procedural discretion and decision making. Any procedural issue related to the duties and authority of the office for which supervisory staff from the civilian unit and the internal affairs unit is unable to reach agreement upon shall be referred to the director of civil rights and the chief of police, who shall jointly determine the matter. In the event the director and the chief are unable to resolve the issue, a designee of the mayor may mediate, and if necessary resolve, the issue.

(e)

Mediation. Upon the joint direction of supervisory staff of the office of police conduct review from both the civilian unit and the internal affairs unit, a complaint may be referred to mandatory mediation upon preliminary review of the complaint or at any other time in the course of investigation when deemed to be appropriate. The mediation shall proceed according to procedures adopted and instituted by the office of police conduct review. Mediators shall be neutral trained mediators unaffiliated with the office of police conduct review, the police conduct oversight commission, the civil rights department or any other department of the City of Minneapolis.

(f)

Firewall. Information from investigations shall be shared only with staff assigned to the office of police conduct review and police conduct oversight commission, unless otherwise specifically authorized by law. (90-Or-043, § 1, 1-26-90; 2003-Or-028, § 3, 3-21-03; 2003-Or-112, § 1, 9-12-03; 2004-Or-068, § 1, 6-18-04; 2009-Or-029, § 1, 3-27-09; 2010-Or-022, § 1, 4-16-10; 2012-Or-061, § 4, 9-21-12)