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Commendations, Citizen
Complaints, and Use of Force Issues
The Metropolitan
Police Department is committed to providing quality, professional
service to all members of the community. The MPDC does its best
to recognize individuals who provide exemplary service. Community
members or visitors to DC who have had a positive experience with
an MPDC officer or civilian employee are invited to share their
positive experiences by submitting a commendation.
Sometimes, however,
individuals may feel that a member of the MPDC has failed to meet
that standard by engaging in misconduct (including excessive force).
In these situations, individuals are encouraged to file a formal
citizen complaint.
The MPDC investigates
all citizen complaints in a fair, thorough, and impartial manner.
In some cases, investigations are conducted in conjunction with
the District of Columbia's Office
of Police Complaints (OCP). This section of the MPDC website
helps to explain the citizen complaint process, including how to
file a complaint, and how that complaint is investigated.
Incidents in
which police officers use force—up to, and including, deadly
force—are particularly sensitive matters. The MPDC created
the Civil Rights and Force Investigations
Division to investigate incidents in which MPDC officers use
force, and to monitor and improve use-of-force policies and procedures.
This reform process is being carried out in cooperation with the
US Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. In January 1999,
Chief of Police Charles
H. Ramsey asked the Justice Department to review all aspects
of use of force within the MPDC. In June 2001, the MPDC signed a
historic Memorandum of Agreement
(MOA) with the Justice Department outlining a number of reforms
in the use-of-force area. This section explains the organization
and function of the MPDC’s Civil Rights and Force Investigations
Division, and provides updates on the Department’s implementation
of the use-of-force MOA.
Commendations
Citizen
Complaints
Use
of Force Issues
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