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8 LONG TITLE
9 General Description:
10 This bill modifies a provision relating to investigations of the use of force by a law
11 enforcement officer.
12 Highlighted Provisions:
13 This bill:
14 ▸ modifies and enacts definitions applicable to a provision relating to investigations
15 of officer-involved critical incidents.
16 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
17 None
18 Other Special Clauses:
19 None
20 Utah Code Sections Affected:
21 AMENDS:
22 76-2-408, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2015, Chapter 178
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24 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
25 Section 1. Section 76-2-408 is amended to read:
26 76-2-408. Peace officer use of force -- Investigations.
27 (1) As used in this section:
28 (a) "Dangerous weapon" [
29 or intended use is capable of causing death or serious bodily injury to a person.
30 (b) "Deadly force" means a force that creates or is likely to create, or that the person
31 using the force intends to create, a substantial likelihood of death or serious bodily injury to a
32 person.
33 (c) "In custody" means in the legal custody of a state prison, county jail, or other
34 correctional facility, including custody that results from:
35 (i) a detention to secure attendance as a witness in a criminal case;
36 (ii) the charging with a crime and committing for trial;
37 (iii) committing for contempt, upon civil process, or by other authority of law; or
38 (iv) sentencing to imprisonment on conviction of a crime.
39 [
40 district attorney's office, or an interagency task force composed of officers from multiple law
41 enforcement agencies.
42 [
43 term is defined in Section 53-13-103.
44 [
45 (i) an officer's use of deadly force against a person;
46 [
47 that causes injury to any person;
48 [
49 officer, resulting from [
50 (A) use of a motor vehicle [
51 (B) use of a government vehicle while the officer is off duty;
52 [
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54 have been medically diagnosed prior to the person's death; or
55 [
56 than an officer, resulting from [
57 prevent a person's escape from custody, to make an arrest, or otherwise to gain physical control
58 of a person.
59 (g) "Serious bodily injury" means the same as that term is defined in Section 76-1-601.
60 (2) When an officer-involved critical incident occurs:
61 (a) upon receiving notice of the officer-involved critical incident, the law enforcement
62 agency having jurisdiction where the incident occurred shall, as soon as practical, notify the
63 county or district attorney having jurisdiction where the incident occurred; and
64 (b) the chief executive of the law enforcement agency and the county or district
65 attorney having jurisdiction where the incident occurred shall:
66 (i) jointly designate an investigating agency for the officer-involved critical incident;
67 and
68 (ii) designate which agency is the lead investigative agency if the officer-involved
69 critical incident involves multiple investigations.
70 (3) The investigating agency under Subsection (2) may not be the law enforcement
71 agency employing the officer who is alleged to have caused or contributed to the
72 officer-involved critical incident.
73 (4) This section does not preclude the law enforcement agency employing an officer
74 alleged to have caused or contributed to the officer-involved critical incident from conducting
75 an internal administrative investigation.
76 (5) Each law enforcement agency that is part of or administered by the state or any of
77 its political subdivisions shall, by December 31, 2015, adopt and post on its publicly accessible
78 website:
79 (a) the policies and procedures the agency has adopted to select the investigating
80 agency if an officer-involved critical incident occurs in its jurisdiction and one of its officers is
81 alleged to have caused or contributed to the officer-involved incident; and
82 (b) the protocols the agency has adopted to ensure that any investigation of
83 officer-involved incidents occurring in its jurisdiction are conducted professionally,
84 thoroughly, and impartially.