1.2.5 PROHIBITION OF RACIAL OR OTHER BIASED BASED POLICING
It shall be prohibited for any employee of the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office to engage in “racial or other biased-based policing” defined as the unreasonable use of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender or religion by a law enforcement officer in deciding to initiate an enforcement action. It is not racial or other biased based policing when race, ethnicity, national origin, gender or religion is used in combination with other identifying factors as part of a specific individual description to initiate an enforcement action.
Annual training will be provided to all Sedgwick County Sheriff’s deputies that includes but is not limited to training relevant to racial or other biased-based policing.
If a person alleges that a racial or other biased-based policing incident occurred, employees should inform the citizen on how they may file a complaint with the Sheriff’s Office and/or the Office of the Attorney General regarding the incident. Any complaint of racial or other biased based policing will be fully investigated by the Sheriff’s Office.
The Community Policing Sergeant shall at appropriate times, in the oversight of community outreach programs by the section, make sure that information concerning the Sheriff’s Policies regarding racial or other biased-based policing is presented. Said information shall include but not be limited to information regarding the definition of racial or other biased-based policing and the procedure to file a complaint in the event a citizen believes they have been subject to said racial or other biased-based policing.
The Professional Standards Unit shall compile an annual report of all complaints of racial or other biased-based policing received. After the report is approved by the Sheriff, it will be forwarded to the Office of the Attorney General for review, on or before July 31st of every year. It shall include:
The date the complaint is filed;
Action taken in response to the complaint;
The decision upon disposition of the complaint; and
The date the complaint is closed.
Whether or not all Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office law enforcement officers not exempted by Kansas Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training received the training required.
Whether the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office has a policy prohibiting racial or other biased-based policing;
Whether the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office policy mandates specific discipline for sustained complaints of racial or other biased-based policing;
Whether the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office policy details the discipline to be administered for sustained complaints of racial or other biased-based policing;
Whether the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office has a community advisory board;
Whether the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office has a racial or other biased-based policing comprehensive plan or if it collects traffic or pedestrian stop data.
At the conclusion of an investigation wherein racial or other biased-based policing is deemed to be sustained, the employee is subject to the appropriate disciplinary action set out in 26.1 Appendix A.
