The CIRB will be comprised of a minimum of six (6) members including one community member, in addition to the Deputy Chief Support Services Division, who will serve as Chair. Each CIRB community member will have full decision input prior to the submission of recommendations to the Chief.
The day following the incident, the Deputy Chief Support Services Division will recommend five Critical Incident Review Board community members, subject to approval by the Chief of Police, to include:
- Deputy Chief Operations Division
- A Bureau Captain or Lieutenant from a division other than the involved department members
- A Supervisor from the Professional Standards Unit
- A Training Manager or their designee. The Department training manager, or designee, will always be a member of the CIRB board to address training needs or improvement, and ensure incorporation of CIRB recommendations to inform agency training through curriculum updates, or instructor/supervisor/personnel development.
- At least two subject matter expert(s) at the rank of Corporal or above with experience regarding the issues raised by the officer-involved critical incident under review.
- A member of the community will be included as part of each CIRB. The designated community member(s) will be selected in an open process, as established by the Chief, on an annual basis.
· Additional community members of the public may be assigned to the Board based upon special skills or expertise, as determined appropriate by the Chief of Police.
Integrity and impartiality are key to the actions of the CIRB. No VPD employee with a record of sustained discipline for an OIS, use of force, or truthfulness can sit on the CIRB.
The Independent Police Auditor shall, to the extent authorized by Title 18 of the Vallejo Municipal Code, have full access to the records and recommendations of the Board and may attend any convened CIRB meetings for the purpose of fulfilling their authorized role.
The Chief of Police may reject any nominee forwarded and may appoint additional personnel to the Critical Incident Review Board as practical or as the needs of the agency dictate.
The Critical Incident Review Board will work independent of the Professional Standards Unit Internal Affairs investigation and is empowered to conduct a review into all the factors contributing to an officer-involved critical incident under their authority.
The CIRB Board will use an approved template for each review conducted to include an executive summary and reporting of the specific factors reviewed. The review will provide specific analysis, findings, and recommendations, as required, for each of the following areas as they relate to an officer-involved critical incident:
- Pre-event planning and decision making (e.g., including the assignment or roles and responsibilities, communications with dispatch and among officers, and requests for additional resources.
- Supervision (e.g., command and control; adherence to response and reporting requirements)
- De-escalation and tactics (e.g., de-escalation u s e d , officers’ actions to address minimization)
- Training and equipment (e.g., were the actions taken consistent with training; was training sufficient; whether additional training is required)
- Policy issues (e.g., do any applicable policies need updating, improving, or revising)
- Post-event response (e.g., timely transition to rescue/first aid mode)
- Miscellaneous issues (other issues from the event that are listed in the above categories)