Officer sexual misconduct investigations

Sexual abuse by a person acting with official authority violates the Constitution, whether it occurs during a traffic stop, in a jail, or in a prison. These cases often lack video and independent witnesses, so they are proved with records: where the officer was, who else made similar reports, and what the agency knew.

What an investigation looks for

• Location data, dispatch logs, and shift records placing the officer with the person
• Other people who reported similar conduct by the same officer
• Prior complaints, and what supervisors did about them
• Interviews conducted with care, at the pace the person chooses

How these cases are investigated

In officer sexual misconduct cases, the work most often involves officer and agency background research, public records requests, witness location and interviews, and pattern and practice evidence. What a particular case needs depends on what evidence already exists and what is at risk of being lost.

Nationwide, and civil rights only

Evidence in officer sexual misconduct cases is lost quickly. Video is overwritten, records are purged, and witnesses move on. Civil Rights PI accepts these investigations nationwide, and the earlier the work begins, the more there is to find.