Senate Bill 2798

AN ACT TO REQUIRE AN INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION OF A DEATH OR INJURY INVOLVING A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Review of death or injury involving a law enforcement officer. (1) In this section the following terms have the meanings ascribed:

(a) "Law enforcement agency" means an agency or unit of government, whether a municipality, the state or a political subdivision, or any agent thereof, that has constitutional or statutory authority to employ or appoint persons as officers. The term also includes a private entity that has contracted with the state or county for the operation and maintenance of a nonjuvenile detention facility.

(b) "Law enforcement officer" means any person who is elected, appointed, or employed full time or part time by a law enforcement agency, who is vested with authority to bear arms and make arrests, and whose primary responsibility is the prevention and detection of crime or the enforcement of the penal, criminal, traffic, or highway laws of the state. The term includes all certified correction officers, supervisory correction officers, correction probation officers, and command personnel whose duties include, in whole or in part, the supervision, training, guidance, and management responsibilities of full-time law enforcement officers, part-time law enforcement officers, or auxiliary law enforcement officers.

(c) "Auxiliary law enforcement officer" means any person employed or appointed, with or without compensation, who aids or assists a full- or part-time law enforcement officer and who, while under the direct supervision of a full- or part-time law enforcement officer, has the authority to arrest and perform law enforcement functions.

(d) "Officer-involved death (OID)" means a death of an individual that resulted directly from an action or an omission of a law enforcement officer while the law enforcement officer is on duty or while the law enforcement officer is off duty but performing activities that are within the scope of the officer's law enforcement duties.

(e) "Officer-involved shooting (OIS)" is the discharge of a firearm, whether accidental or intentional, by a law enforcement officer, whether on or off duty, and includes an officer's discharge of a firearm that results in any physical injury or death of a person, even if it is an accidental discharge.

(2) (a) Every law enforcement agency shall have a written policy that complies with this section. Each law enforcement officer employed by the law enforcement agency must sign a statement as confirmation of receipt of the policy regarding the investigation process for any OID or OIS.

(b) (i) Each policy under this subsection (2) shall require an investigation conducted by at least two (2) investigators, one (1) of whom is the lead investigator, and neither of whom is employed by the law enforcement agency that employs an officer being investigated for an OID or OIS. The two (2) investigators shall be appointed to the case by the Attorney General's office, and they may be employees of the Attorney General's office.

(ii) The policy shall require that if an OID or OIS being investigated is traffic related, the investigation must use a crash reconstruction unit from a conflict-free private or public independent agency that is not an ancillary entity of the law enforcement agency that employs the officer being investigated, and that does not employ a law enforcement officer involved in the OID or OIS under investigation.

(c) The policy may allow an internal investigation into an OID or OIS only if the internal investigation does not interfere with the investigation required under subsection (3) of this section.

(3) An investigation of an OID or OIS must be conducted according to the policy adopted by the law enforcement agency, and compensation for participation in an OID or OIS investigation may be determined in a manner consistent with any applicable interlocal agreement or a memorandum of understanding and may be paid from funds obtained from asset forfeitures. The investigation process shall be transparent and avoid any appearances of any conflict of interest.

(4) The investigator or investigators conducting an OID or OIS investigation must provide a complete written report to both the Mississippi Attorney General and the District Attorney of the county in which the OID or OIS occurred. The investigation shall be completed within six (6) months unless an extension of time is requested and granted for good cause by a court of competent jurisdiction. Upon a finding of good cause, an extension for investigation may be granted for not more than six (6) months.

(5) If the Attorney General determines there is no basis for prosecution of the law enforcement officer involved in the OID or OIS, the investigation shall immediately release the report to the public.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.