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SECTION: 1001 FIELD INTERVIEW CARDS

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SECTION: 1001

TITLE: FIELD INTERVIEW CARDS

EFFECTIVE DATE: September 27, 2022    

PURPOSE:

The Evangeline Parish Sheriff's Office is committed to constitutional and bias-free policing. To ensure that the Office and its deputies adhere to these principles, deputies document stops and certain other discretionary interactions with the public in Field Interview Cards (FICs), and supervisors review FICs to support constitutional and bias-free policing.

POLICY STATEMENT:

Officers shall use accurate and specific descriptive language in any reports documenting stops, detentions, or searches. Articulation of reasonable suspicion and probable cause shall be specific and clear.

The investigating officer of the primary unit on scene shall document the following occurrence in a FIC whether or not a report, citation, or summons is completed:

  1. Stopping a vehicle for a traffic offense or suspicious activity
  2. A self-initiated investigatory stop of a suspicious person
  3. Any pat-down or search conducted without a search warrant (whether with consent or not), except documented searches incident to arrest and administrative/inventory searches.
  4. The use of a Naloxone kit on an individual with a suspected opiate/opioid overdose
  5. A deputy-assisted diversion so that the person can receive medical or mental health care or other assistance (see CONTACT STOPS)

Many arrests (State, municipal, traffic) start as an "investigatory stop" and as such need a FIC even if other paperwork (Affidavit, summons, citation, or incident report) is also completed. This does not, however, mean that all arrests must be documented in a FIC.

A motor vehicle crash, including crashes resulting in citations, does not require an FIC.

Dispatched calls for service do not automatically require a FIC. Officers may choose to document any actions on their part in a FIC if they believe it is in the best interest of law enforcement and/or public safety, even if not specifically required by this policy.

DEFINITIONS

Field Interview Cards (FICs) - The method of entry should be electronically entered by the EPSO Dispatch utilizing EFORCE (CAD).  The EPSO utilizes to document stops and other discretionary interactions between a member of the EPSO and individual members of the community.

Investigatory Stop - The temporary involuntary detention and questioning of a person and/or vehicle and its occupants to investigate potential criminal conduct. To conduct an investigatory stop, the officer must have reasonable suspicion that the individual or vehicle occupant has engaged, is engaging, or is about to engage in criminal conduct.

Stop - A brief, minimally intrusive detention of a subject, including pedestrians, bikers, and/or occupants of a vehicle, during which a reasonable person in the subject's position would not feel free to leave, as defined in TERRY v. OHIO, 392 U.S. 1 (1968).

Vehicle Stop - The involuntary detention of a motor vehicle and it occupants. Vehicle stops may be conducted (1) where there is probable cause to believe that the driver has committed a traffic violation or (2) where there is reasonable suspicion that a vehicle occupant has engaged , is engaging, or is about to engage in criminal conduct.

GENERAL GUIDELINES

The investigating officer of the primary unit on the scene shall be responsible for calling in the information for each person stopped for each incident to EPSO Dispatch.

Supervisors shall review all FICs entered by members of their unit to ensure that deputies are complying with official regulations regarding legal stops and that the Field Interview Cards are completed using accurate and specific descriptive language.

All FIC entries shall be completed via the EFORCE (CAD) module as soon as practical but no later than the end of the officer's shift.

The following information shall be required on all FICs:

  1. Date and Time of stop/incident
  2. Location of stop/incident
  3. Duration of the stop/incident
  4. Officer name, badge # or employee ID #
  5. Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) number and/or incident report number (if any)
  6. If a vehicle stop, presence and number of any passengers. I
  7. If a vehicle stop, whether the driver or any passenger was required to exit the vehicle and justification for that action.
  8. If a non-vehicle stop (e.g.pedestrian or bicycle) the number of individuals stopped and perceived race, ethnicity, gender, and age of each person. (See Contacts and Stops)
  9. Reason for the stop, including a clear and specific articulation of the facts creating reasonable suspicion or probable cause.
  10. Whether any individual was asked to consent to a search of their person, vehicle, or articles and whether such consent was given. Consent to search documentation shall be completed prior to the search according to SEARCH AND SEIZURE
  11. If a pat-down or frisk was performed on any individuals the officer shall document the specific facts creating an articulable reasonable suspicion that the person was armed and dangerous, and description of any items of contraband or weapons found (SEARCH and SEIZURE).
  12. If a probable cause search was performed on any individual , the officer shall document the facts creating probable cause and a brief description of any items of contraband or weapons found (SEE SEARCH AND SEIZURE).
  13. If a strip search was requested , the officer who requested the strip search and the supervisor who approved or disapproved the request to strip search, and signed Strip Search Authorization form. (SEE SEARCH AND SEIZURE).
  14. Disposition of the stop, including whether a citation or summons was issued or an arrest was made of, any individual.

SUPERVISORS SHALL APPROVE ALL FIC DOCUMENTATION

Supervisor shall review the CAD for FICs to determine if each stop, frisk, or search was supported by documentation of reasonable suspicion or probable cause; whether it showed a need for corrective action or review of agency policy, and federal and state law, and whether is showed a need for corrective action or review of agency policy, strategy, tactics, or training. Supervisors shall make every reasonable effort to complete this review within 12 hours of receiving the submitted FIC in CAD, and in all cases shall complete the review within 72 hours.

If a supervisor finds the FIC documentation to be inaccurate or insufficient, that supervisor shall require that the Deputy supplement the documentation before the end of that Deputy's present tour of duty and/or take corrective action according to the following paragraph.

If the actions reviewed appear not to be supported by the required reasonable suspicion or probable cause, or are not consistent with this policy, federal, and state law, the supervisor, in consultation with the Patrol commander if present) shall document and establish a strategy to remediate the situation. The Supervisor shall document any corrective action and, as appropriate, shall recommend a review of agency, policy, strategy, tactics, or training.

RECORDS

These records store in the FIC (CAD) data bases shall be maintained of in the act verifies for five years from the date of entry.