PRINTER'S NO. 842
No. 755 Session of 1983
INTRODUCED BY CESSAR, SALVATORE, PISTELLA, WESTON, PERZEL,
WOGAN, O'BRIEN, DOMBROWSKI, McMONAGLE, McCALL, BATTISTO,
MAIALE, BELOFF, VAN HORNE, DAWIDA, LIVENGOOD, SEVENTY, DUFFY,
MRKONIC, PETRONE, CLARK AND COHEN, APRIL 13, 1983
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, APRIL 13, 1983
AN ACT
1 Providing for the rights of law enforcement officers concerning
2 certain complaints and grievances.
3 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
4 hereby enacts as follows:
5 Section 1. Short title.
6 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Law
7 Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights.
8 Section 2. Legislative intent.
9 The General Assembly recognizes the need for minimum
10 standards to protect the rights of law enforcement officers
11 beyond departmental procedures.
12 Section 3. Definitions.
13 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
14 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
15 context clearly indicates otherwise:
16 "Interrogation." The formal and systematic questioning of a
17 law enforcement officer accused in a complaint of malfeasance,
1 misfeasance or nonfeasance which may result in dismissal,
2 demotion, suspension, reduction in salary, written reprimand or
3 transfer for punitive purposes.
4 "Law enforcement officer." Any full-time law enforcement
5 officer of any police department or organization of a
6 municipality, county or park or the State or any agency thereof
7 including but not necessarily limited to law enforcement
8 officers of the Pennsylvania State Police, Municipal Police
9 Departments, Capitol Police, Bureau of Narcotics, Liquor Control
10 Board Enforcement Division, and the Delaware River Port
11 Authority.
12 "Malfeasance." The doing of an act which is unlawful.
13 "Misfeasance." The improper performance of a lawful act.
14 "Nonfeasance." The omission of an act which a person has a
15 legal duty to perform.
16 Section 4. Rights of law enforcement officers.
17 Whenever a law enforcement officer is under interrogation the
18 following minimum standards shall apply:
19 (1) The interrogation shall be conducted when the
20 officer is on duty unless the seriousness of the
21 investigation is such that an immediate interrogation is
22 necessary. The officer shall be compensated for absence from
23 work as a result of any interrogation.
24 (2) The interrogation shall take place at the office of
25 the command of the investigating officer or the office of the
26 precinct or police unit or municipal building of the
27 municipality in which the incident allegedly occurred.
28 (3) The officer under interrogation shall be informed of
29 the name, rank and command of the officer or municipal
30 official in charge of the interrogation, and the name, rank
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1 and command of any and all persons who will be present during
2 the interrogation.
3 (4) The officer under interrogation shall be informed of
4 the nature of the interrogation and the name or names of the
5 complainant or complainants at the outset of the
6 interrogation.
7 (5) No complaint shall be entertained unless it is sworn
8 to by the complainant or complainants before an official
9 authorized to administer oaths.
10 (6) All interrogations shall be for reasonable periods
11 and shall be timed to allow for such personal necessities and
12 rest periods as are reasonably necessary.
13 (7) The officer under interrogation shall not be
14 subjected to offensive language or threatened with transfer,
15 dismissal or disciplinary action either directly or
16 indirectly.
17 (8) A written or mechanical record shall be made of the
18 entire interrogation.
19 (9) If the officer under interrogation is under arrest,
20 or is likely to be placed under arrest, he shall be informed
21 of his rights prior to the commencement of the interrogation.
22 (10) The officer under interrogation shall have the
23 right to be represented by counsel or other representative of
24 his choice who shall be present at all times during an
25 interrogation.
26 Section 5. Civil suits by officers.
27 A law enforcement officer may sue any person or municipality
28 for damages suffered or for the abridgment of civil rights when
29 complaints filed against the officer are found to be without
30 merit, or made with the intent to cause damage or loss of
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1 employment.
2 Section 6. Notice of disciplinary action; polygraphs.
3 (a) Notice.--No dismissal, demotion, transfer, reassignment
4 or other personnel action which may result in a loss of pay or
5 benefits or which is a punitive measure shall be taken against a
6 law enforcement officer unless the officer is notified thereof
7 and provided with the reasons therefore prior to the effective
8 date of such action.
9 (b) Adverse comments.--No officer shall have any comment
10 adverse to his interest entered in his personnel file, or any
11 record kept at his place or unit of employment, without the
12 officer having first read and signed the instrument containing
13 the adverse comment indicating he is aware that such comment is
14 being placed in his personnel file or other place of
15 recordation. An entry may be made only if after reading the
16 instrument containing an adverse comment, the officer refuses to
17 sign it. A witness shall thereafter note that the officer was
18 presented with the opportunity to read and sign the instrument
19 and refused to do so.
20 (c) Response.--An officer shall have 30 days within which to
21 file a written response to any adverse comment entered in his
22 personnel file. Written response shall be attached to, and shall
23 accompany, the adverse comment.
24 (d) Polygraph.--No officer shall be compelled to submit to a
25 polygraph examination against his will. No disciplinary action
26 or other recrimination shall be taken against an officer
27 refusing to submit to a polygraph examination, nor shall any
28 comment be entered anywhere in the investigator's notes or
29 anywhere else that the officer refused to take a polygraph
30 examination. No testimony or evidence shall be admissible at a
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1 subsequent hearing, trial, or proceeding, judicial or
2 administrative, to the effect that the officer refused to take a
3 polygraph examination.
4 Section 7. Retaliation for exercising rights.
5 (a) Punitive measures.--No law enforcement officer shall be
6 discharged, disciplined, demoted or denied promotion, transfer
7 or reassignment, or be discriminated against in regard to his
8 employment, or be threatened as a result of the exercise of
9 constitutional rights.
10 (b) Appeal.--No dismissal or demotion, nor denial of
11 promotion, shall be undertaken by any public agency without
12 providing the officer with an opportunity for administrative
13 appeal.
14 Section 8. Personal privacy.
15 (a) Disclosure.--No officer shall be required for purposes
16 of job assignment or personnel action to disclose information as
17 to property, income, assets, source of income, debts, personal
18 or domestic expenditures (including those of any member of his
19 family or household) unless the information is obtained under
20 proper legal procedure. If there is a conflict of interest with
21 respect to the performance of his official duties, or it is
22 necessary for the agency to ascertain the desirability of
23 assigning the officer to a specialized unit in which there is a
24 strong possibility that bribes or other improper inducements may
25 be offered, this shall constitute an exception.
26 (b) Search of lockers.--No officer shall have his locker, or
27 other space for storage that may be assigned to him, searched
28 except in his presence, and with his consent in writing, or
29 unless a valid search warrant has been obtained. This section
30 shall apply only to lockers or other space for storage that is
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1 owned by the employing agency. Any person from whom consent is
2 requested shall be told that he has the right to deny the
3 consent.
4 Section 9. Effective date.
5 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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