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Complaint
Filing FAQ/Info
- How
Do I Make A Complaint?
- What
Happens to a Pending Complaint?
- The
Complaint Process
- What
is a Citizen Complaint?
- What
Happens after I file a Citizen Complaint?
- What
Happens after a Preliminary Inquiry?
- What
is a Public Hearing?
- Can
the Board discipline or fire individual police officers?
- Do
Police Officers participate?
- Can
the Board require people to participate?
- What
happens if a subject officer does not participate?
- Can
the Board prosecute for perjury?
- If
a police officer is charged with criminal activity related to
a Citizen Complaint, what happens to the Citizen Complaint?
- Why
should I complain?
1.
How Do I Make A Complaint?
You
may call, write, fax or drop in to the office and tell us what happened.
It didn't have to happen to you; if you know about a situation that
hurts the relationship between citizens and the police, you can
tell us about it. We will log your contact as a pending complaint.
If you want us to investigate it, you must file a Citizen Complaint,
which requires you to describe your complaint under oath. The number
to call is 412-765-8023 or fax to 412-765-8059.
Pending/Informal
Complaint Form
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2.
What Happens to a Pending Complaint?
A
pending complaint is kept on file until you convert it to a Citizen
Complaint by describing the situation under oath. A pending complaint
must be filed within 6 months of the incident causing the complaint.
If you don't tell us within 6 months, the case cannot be investigated
or reviewed by the Board. Likewise, if you tell us about something
that did not involve Pittsburgh Police, the case is out of our jurisdiction,
and cannot be investigated or reviewed by the Board.
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3.
The Complaint Process
Every
complaint received by the CPRB receives thorough attention.
You can download
a 200k flow chart that illustrates the precise steps taken by the
CPRB office
once a formal (rather than preliminary) complaint has been received
(for definitions of "formal" and "preliminary," see the other questions).
Complaint Flow Chart 
You
will need the Adobe
Acrobat Reader©
to view or print these forms.
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4.
What is a Citizen Complaint?
A
Citizen Complaint is a formal allegation of misconduct against a
member or members of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police by a citizen.
The complaint statement is given voluntarily and under oath, and
describes an encounter or situation involving Pittsburgh Police
that offended a citizen or damages the relationship between citizens
and the police. The Board has authority to investigate and hold
public hearings on Citizen Complaints.
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5.
What Happens after I file a Citizen Complaint?
An
Investigator from the CPRB is assigned to the case. A summary of
the case is presented to the Board and the Board determines if the
case should be dismissed or further investigation should occur.
If the Board orders a Preliminary Inquiry, the Investigator will
offer mediation to the complainant and the subject officer, interview
witnesses, gather evidence and return to the Board. At this stage,
the focus is on the basic facts of the complaint and whether or
not the initial evidence supports the allegation of misconduct.
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6. What Happens after a Preliminary Inquiry?
The
Board reviews and evaluates the initial evidence gathered and may
dismiss the complaint or move the complaint into Full Investigation.
During a Full Investigation, witnesses may be subpoenaed to give
statements, evidence will be gathered and the circumstances of the
event clearly defined. A comprehensive summary is returned to the
Board and the Members determine whether the case has been resolved,
if it should be dismissed or ordered to a Public Hearing.
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7.
What is a Public Hearing?
If the Board orders a Public Hearing, the full Board, or a Panel
of three Members, will hear the complaint, at a public location
at an appointed and advertised time. At the Public Hearing, witnesses
will be called to give testimony and evidence will be presented.
An official record of the hearing is made. The Members hearing the
evidence will deliberate and determine if the facts of the case
demonstrate that the alleged misconduct was more likely to have
happened than not, and render a finding. If the Board finds that
misconduct likely occurred, they will inform the Chief of the Pittsburgh
Bureau of Police and the Mayor. The Board will also make recommendations
of discipline, training, systemic changes, policy or procedural
changes or any recommendation intended to prevent future occurrences
of similar misconduct and designed to promote better relations between
the community and police.
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8.
Can the Board discipline or fire individual police officers?
No,
but the Board can make a recommendation to the Chief and the Mayor
to impose discipline, terminate or provide remedial training to
an individual officer. The Chief or Mayor must respond to the Board's
recommendations within 30 working days of receiving the recommendations.
The Chief or Mayor must inform the Board whether the recommendations
are accepted, rejected, or will be implemented with modifications.
The Chief and Mayor retain full authority to set discipline policies
for the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police.
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9.
Do Police Officers participate?
The
Board conducts impartial investigations. It is in the interest of
any officer who is subject of an investigation to provide information
to the CPRB investigation. The CPRB Investigator is examining a
moment in history involving an encounter between a citizen and a
subject officer. The subject officer is a witness to the event,
and has information that is critical to the investigation of that
event. We expect officer participation, and the enabling legislation
requires such participation.
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10.
Can the Board require people to participate?
The
Board has the power to subpoena people, documents and other evidence.
A subpoena compels a person's presence, but cannot make a person
compromise his/her right to avoid self-incrimination.
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11.
What happens if a subject officer does not participate?
Some
officers do participate in CPRB investigations. However, when they
do not, the official police reports are considered to be the officer's
statement, the credibility of which is determined by the evidence
produced by the CPRB investigation.
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12.
Can the Board prosecute for perjury?
The
Board can refer a case to the District Attorney for investigation
under applicable criminal statutes relating to sworn statements.
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13.
If a police officer is charged with criminal activity related to
a Citizen Complaint, what happens to the Citizen Complaint?
The
Board will suspend its investigation if a subject officer is the
subject of a criminal charge or investigation related to the Citizen
Complaint. When the criminal case is resolved, the Board may resume
its investigation into the Citizen Complaint.
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14.
Why should I complain?
Because
you deserve to be treated professionally by your police officers!
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