                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

LAW-ENFORCEMENT CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT BODIES (§ 9.1-601)

A. 1. As used in this section, unless the context requires a different meaning:
			&#8220;Law-enforcement agency&#8221; means a police department established
pursuant to § 15.2-1701 or a campus police department of any public institution
of higher education of the Commonwealth employing a law-enforcement officer
established pursuant to § 23.1-809.
			&#8220;Law-enforcement officer&#8221; means any person, other than a chief of
police, who in his official capacity (i) is authorized by law to make arrests
and (ii) is a nonprobationary officer of a police department, bureau, or force
of any political subdivision, or a campus police department of any public
institution of higher education of the Commonwealth, where such department,
bureau, or force has three or more law-enforcement officers.
&#8220;Law-enforcement officer&#8221; does not include a sheriff or deputy
sheriff or any law-enforcement officer who has rights afforded to him pursuant
to the provisions of Chapter 5 (§ 9.1-500 et seq.).
			&#8220;Locality&#8221; shall be construed to mean a county or city as the
context may require.

   2. For the purposes of this section, a &#8220;law-enforcement agency serving
   under the authority of the locality&#8221; shall be construed to mean any
   law-enforcement agency established within the boundaries of a locality,
   including any town police departments or any campus police departments of any
   public institution of higher education of the Commonwealth established within
   such boundaries.

B. The governing body of a locality may establish a law-enforcement civilian
oversight body. Any law-enforcement civilian oversight body established by the
governing body of a locality shall reflect the demographic diversity of the
locality.

C. A law-enforcement civilian oversight body established pursuant to this
section may have the following duties regarding any law-enforcement agency
established within the boundaries of such locality:

   1. To receive, investigate, and issue findings on complaints from civilians
   regarding the conduct of law-enforcement officers and civilian employees of a
   law-enforcement agency serving under the authority of the locality;

   2. To investigate and issue findings on incidents, including the use of force
   by a law-enforcement officer, death or serious injury to any person held in
   custody, serious abuse of authority or misconduct, allegedly discriminatory
   stops, and other incidents regarding the conduct of law-enforcement officers
   or civilian employees of a law-enforcement agency serving under the authority
   of the locality;

   3. Concordant with any investigation conducted pursuant to subdivisions 1 and
   2 and after consultation with such officer&#8217;s or employee&#8217;s direct
   supervisor or commander, to make binding disciplinary determinations in cases
   that involve serious breaches of departmental and professional standards, as
   defined by the locality. Such disciplinary determinations may include letters
   of reprimand, suspension without pay, suspension with pay, demotion within the
   department, reassignment within the department, termination, involuntary
   restitution, or mediation, any of which is to be implemented by the local
   government employee with ultimate supervisory authority over officers or
   employees of law-enforcement agencies serving under the authority of the
   locality;

   4. To investigate policies, practices, and procedures of law-enforcement
   agencies serving under the authority of the locality and to make
   recommendations regarding changes to such policies, practices, and procedures.
   If the law-enforcement agency declines to implement any changes recommended by
   the law-enforcement civilian oversight body, such law-enforcement civilian
   oversight body may require the law-enforcement agency to create a written
   record, which shall be made available to the public, of its rationale for
   declining to implement a recommendation of the law-enforcement civilian
   oversight body;

   5. To review all investigations conducted internally by law-enforcement
   agencies serving under the authority of the locality, including internal
   investigations of civilians employed by such law-enforcement agencies, and to
   issue findings regarding the accuracy, completeness, and impartiality of such
   investigations and the sufficiency of any discipline resulting from such
   investigations;

   6. To request reports of the annual expenditures of the law-enforcement
   agencies serving under the authority of the locality and to make budgetary
   recommendations to the governing body of the locality concerning future
   appropriations;

   7. To make public reports on the activities of the law-enforcement civilian
   oversight body, including investigations, hearings, findings, recommendations,
   determinations, and oversight activities; and

   8. To undertake any other duties as reasonably necessary for the
   law-enforcement civilian oversight body to effectuate its lawful purpose as
   provided for in this section to effectively oversee the law-enforcement
   agencies serving under the authority of the locality.

D. The governing body of the locality shall establish the policies and
procedures for the performance of duties by the law-enforcement civilian
oversight body as set forth in this section. The law-enforcement civilian
oversight body may hold hearings and, if after making a good faith effort to
obtain, voluntarily, the attendance of witnesses and the production of books,
papers, and other evidence necessary to perform its duties the law-enforcement
civilian oversight body is unable to obtain such attendance or production, it
may apply to the circuit court for the locality for a subpoena compelling the
attendance of such witness or the production of such books, papers, and other
evidence, and the court may, upon good cause shown, cause the subpoena to be
issued. Any person so subpoenaed may apply to the court that issued such
subpoena to quash it.

E. Any person currently employed as a law-enforcement officer as defined in
&#xA7; 9.1-101 is ineligible to serve on a law-enforcement civilian oversight
body established pursuant to this section; however, a retired law-enforcement
officer may serve on such law-enforcement civilian oversight body as an
advisory, nonvoting ex officio member. Such retired law-enforcement officer
shall not have been previously employed as a law-enforcement officer by a
law-enforcement agency established within the boundaries of such locality but
shall have been employed as a law-enforcement officer as defined in &#xA7;
9.1-101 in a locality that is similar to the locality that established such
law-enforcement civilian oversight body.

F. A law-enforcement officer who is subject to a binding disciplinary
determination may file a grievance requesting a final hearing in accordance with
&#xA7; 15.2-1507, provided that such matter is a qualifying grievance under the
locality&#8217;s grievance procedures.

G. A law-enforcement civilian oversight body may retain legal counsel to
represent such oversight body in all cases, hearings, controversies, or matters
involving the interests of the oversight body. Such counsel shall be paid from
funds appropriated by the locality.

HISTORY: 2020, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 29, 30.