PRINTER'S NO. 119
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
208
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY GREENLEAF, STACK, TEPLITZ, BREWSTER, BROWNE,
TARTAGLIONE, BOSCOLA, ALLOWAY AND RAFFERTY, JANUARY 15, 2015
REFERRED TO LAW AND JUSTICE, JANUARY 15, 2015
AN ACT
Providing for the rights of law enforcement officers concerning
certain complaints and grievances.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Law
Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights Act.
Section 2. Legislative intent.
The General Assembly recognizes the need for minimum
standards to protect the rights of law enforcement officers
beyond departmental procedures.
Section 3. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Interrogation." The formal and systematic questioning of a
law enforcement officer accused in a complaint of malfeasance,
misfeasance or nonfeasance which may result in dismissal,
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demotion, suspension, reduction in salary, written reprimand or
transfer for punitive purposes.
"Law enforcement officer" or "officer." A full-time law
enforcement officer of a police department or organization of
the Commonwealth or a political subdivision thereof, including,
but not limited to, a law enforcement officer of the
Pennsylvania State Police, the Bureau of Liquor Control
Enforcement of the Pennsylvania State Police, a municipal police
department, the Capitol Police and the port authorities.
"Malfeasance." The performance of an act which is unlawful.
"Misfeasance." The improper performance of a lawful act.
"Nonfeasance." The omission of an act which a person has a
legal duty to perform.
Section 4. Rights of law enforcement officers.
Whenever a law enforcement officer is under interrogation,
the following minimum standards shall apply:
(1) The interrogation shall be conducted when the
officer is on duty unless the seriousness of the
investigation is such that an immediate interrogation is
necessary. The officer shall be compensated for absence from
work as a result of an interrogation.
(2) The interrogation shall take place at the office of
the command of the investigating officer or the office of the
precinct or police unit or municipal building of the
municipality in which the incident allegedly occurred.
(3) The officer under interrogation shall be informed of
the name, rank and command of the officer or municipal
official in charge of the interrogation, and the name, rank
and command of any and all persons who will be present during
the interrogation.
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(4) The officer under interrogation shall be informed of
the nature of the interrogation and the name or names of the
complainant or complainants at the outset of the
interrogation.
(5) No complaint shall be entertained unless it is sworn
to by the complainant or complainants before an official
authorized to administer oaths.
(6) The interrogation shall be for a reasonable period
and shall be timed to allow for such personal necessities and
rest periods as are reasonably necessary.
(7) The officer under interrogation shall not be
subjected to offensive language or threatened with transfer,
dismissal or disciplinary action either directly or
indirectly.
(8) A written or mechanical record shall be made of the
entire interrogation.
(9) If the officer under interrogation is under arrest,
or is likely to be placed under arrest, he shall be informed
of his rights prior to the commencement of the interrogation.
(10) The officer under interrogation shall have the
right to be represented by counsel or other representative of
his choice who shall be present at all times during the
interrogation.
Section 5. Civil suits by law enforcement officers.
A law enforcement officer may initiate and maintain an action
against any person or municipality for damages suffered or for
the abridgment of civil rights when a complaint filed against
the officer is found to be without merit or is made with the
intent to cause damage or loss of employment.
Section 6. Notice of disciplinary action and polygraphs.
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(a) Notice.--No dismissal, demotion, transfer, reassignment
or other personnel action which may result in a loss of pay or
benefits or which is a punitive measure shall be taken against a
law enforcement officer unless the officer is notified thereof
and provided with the reasons therefor prior to the effective
date of such action.
(b) Adverse comments.--
(1) No officer shall have any comment adverse to his
interest entered in his personnel file, or any record kept at
his place or unit of employment, without giving the officer
an opportunity to first read and sign the instrument
containing the adverse comment indicating he is aware that
such comment is being entered in his personnel file or other
place of recordation.
(2) If, after reading the instrument containing the
adverse comment, the officer refuses to sign it, the entry
may still be made. A witness shall thereafter note that the
officer was presented with the opportunity to read and sign
the instrument and refused to do so.
(c) Response.--An officer shall have 30 days within which to
file a written response to any adverse comment entered in his
personnel file. The written response, if any, shall be attached
to, and shall accompany, the adverse comment.
(d) Polygraph.--
(1) No officer shall be compelled to submit to a
polygraph examination against his will. No disciplinary
action or other recrimination shall be taken against an
officer for refusing to submit to a polygraph examination,
nor shall any comment be entered anywhere in the
investigator's notes or elsewhere that the officer refused to
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take a polygraph examination.
(2) No testimony or evidence shall be admissible at a
subsequent hearing, trial or proceeding, judicial or
administrative, to the effect that the officer refused to
take a polygraph examination.
Section 7. Retaliation for exercising rights.
(a) Punitive measures.--No law enforcement officer shall be
discharged, disciplined, demoted or denied promotion, transfer
or reassignment, or be discriminated against in regard to his
employment, or be threatened as a result of the exercise of
constitutional rights.
(b) Appeal.--No dismissal or demotion, nor denial of
promotion, shall be undertaken by any public agency without
providing the officer with an opportunity for administrative
appeal.
Section 8. Personal privacy.
(a) Disclosure.--
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), no law
enforcement officer shall be required for purposes of job
assignment or personnel action to disclose information as to
property, income, assets, source of income, debts, personal
or domestic expenditures, including those of any member of
his family or household, unless the information is obtained
under proper legal procedure.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply if there is a conflict
of interest with respect to the performance of the officer's
official duties, or it is necessary for the agency to
ascertain the desirability of assigning the officer to a
specialized unit in which there is a strong possibility that
bribes or other improper inducements may be offered.
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(b) Search of lockers.--
(1) No officer shall have his locker, or other space for
storage that may be assigned to him, searched except in his
presence, and with his consent in writing, or unless a valid
search warrant has been obtained.
(2) Any person from whom consent is requested shall be
told that he has the right to deny the consent.
(3) This subsection shall apply only to a locker or
other space for storage that is owned by the employing
agency.
Section 9. Effective date.
This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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