April 16: Beth and Melanie consider having “Happy Jack’s Tomato Ranch” embroidered on the backs of their green polo shirts
On to: Internal Affairs, with Sergeant Kevin Schmidt!
Firstly, for those who did not work for Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries during the Bruce Zeigman era, here is a picture of Bruce Zeigman:
I show you this picture because, no matter how hard I tried, I could not ignore the fact that Kevin Schmidt strongly resembles one of our former library directors. Of course, Bruce did not walk around with a sheriff’s star pinned to his belt. He walked around in suits with big shoulders. And his resume was simply not as interesting.
About Sergeant Schmidt:
He had his first look at policing when he did a ride-along at the age of seventeen. In his words, “I knew then what job I wanted to do when I grew up.”
(Let’s see, what was I doing when I was seventeen? Oh, right. Waiting for someone to spring me out of high school.)
Sergeant Schmidt started as a patrol officer, moved to Major Crimes, went back to patrol and became a Sergeant, then moved to Internal Affairs two years ago. In his time, he has been a firearms instructor, a riot team leader, a treasurer on the union board, and a marijuana leaf inspector. “Back before marijuana was LEGAL. Not much call for that, now that marijuana is LEGAL.”
(Beth and Melanie wiggle in their seats, desperate to ask what a “Marijuana Leaf Inspector” is. Don’t worry. You’ll find out.)
Sergeant Schmidt: “Does everybody know what Internal Affairs is? Okay, well, Internal Affairs is awesome. You make a lot of friends.”
He explained to us that there are a number of perks to working as the head of IA. He doesn’t have to compete for vacation time. He’s off the streets. He doesn’t have to supervise anyone.
There is, however, a large downside. In his words: “It sucks, because I have to deal with employees doing stupid things, and I constantly want to wring their necks.”
It is at this point that I begin to wonder if Sergeant Schmidt thinks the people he is talking to actually believe that he is a heartless tool. Because we do not. We believe that Sergeant Schmidt views everyone in the Clark County Sheriff’s Office–possibly including Sheriff Horch–as his dumb kids. And that he sometimes wakes in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, wondering what idiot things his dumb kids are currently doing.
Sergeant Schmidt tells us that the first Internal Affairs department was formed in Los Angeles in 1949, with the aim to police the police. The Clark County Sheriff’s Office created an Internal Affairs department somewhere around 1986. Sergeant Schmidt is the only official Internal Affairs employee, although he does have a couple of people working for him (I assume in a clerical capacity.) In fact, many agencies don’t even have an IA department. A point of interest: the Vancouver Police Department has five IA staff.
The Internal Affairs mission? To maintain public confidence through thorough and impartial investigation. They review all use-of-force reports, and investigate alleged misconduct, police violations and, in his words, “poor decisions made by employees.”
Sergeant Schmidt was making his presentation after a two-week vacation. Quote: “Thirty-eight use-of-force reports on my desk after a two week vacation is not fun.” (Side note: reports of infractions go first to the person’s sergeant, then to their commander, and then to Internal Affairs.)
Sergeant Schmidt investigates issues relating to policy and procedure. He is not the person who first investigates reports of criminal infraction; it would be considered a conflict of interest. Those reports are outsourced to other agencies for initial investigation. If criminal conduct is confirmed, the information then goes to Sergeant Schmidt for follow-up.
Not every issue goes to IA. Supervisors deal with complaints of rudeness, insensitivity, failure to respond in a timely manner, and bad driving. Being someone who works with the public, I can imagine how frequently supervisors receive complaints. Complaining is one of the public’s favorite things to do. It’s right up there with bringing dogs into grocery stores, chitchatting while offspring throw tantrums, and mobbing for social justice.
Sergeant Schmidt, on the other hand, investigates major complaints: excessive use of force, dishonesty, illegal conduct, harassment and misconduct. He also looks at general service complaints directed at the department’s procedures and policy.
Common complaints: a person was tasered/pepper sprayed; there was a K-9 attack; someone was hit with a baton; a firearm was used. Complaints such as these could come from citizens, coworkers, supervisors, third parties and anonymous sources. However, an officer shooting goes straight to Internal Affairs.
Sergeant Schmidt feels that Northwest area has a very professional approach to policing, compared to other parts of the country. Specifically the south. Very specifically Mississippi. (“Stuff still happens. . . it’s the south, they’re doing what they’re doing.”)
Sergeant Schmidt has the authority to compel any of the Sheriff’s employees to speak in an IA interview, which (ironically) means that testimony obtained in these interviews can’t be used in a court of law. This is another reason that in the case of criminal misconduct, an outside agency conducts the initial investigation. Anything they find is admissible.
Investigation subjects, as well as witnesses to the infraction, may have a union representative present during the interview. However, the union rep does not have the authority to tell the subject not to answer. All interviews are recorded to guarantee accuracy, and transcribed so that anyone entitled to a copy may receive one.
Interesting side note: for a time, Sergeant Schmidt also acted as a union rep. In one instance, he was asked to represent an employee he didn’t like. He had to provide proper representation even though the person doing the interview was a friend. At one point, Sergeant Schmidt had to cut off his friend’s line of questioning, because it was outside the scope of the interview.
Oh! Speaking of interviews: Sergeant Schmidt showed us an informational video.
Once Sergeant Schmidt has written a review of the case, he turns the review over to the department chief. All investigations are completed with a written report. The report will have one of the following recommended findings:
Unfounded: The investigation indicates that the act or actions never occurred.
Exonerated: The acts did occur, but were justified.
Not Sustained: The investigation could not prove or disprove the allegation (complaints about rudeness often end this way; rudeness is difficult to quantify, much less prove.)
Sustained: The investigation revealed that the allegation did occur and violated departmental policy.
Not involved: The investigation revealed the individual was not involved in the alleged incident.
These findings determine whether a complaint is considered chargeable or not chargeable.
Other things Sergeant Schmidt handles: he works with Risk Management, he is often the liaison with the county civil attorney, and he is involved in collecting stats. . . and public disclosure. (“Public Disclosure is killing me. Wow. That’s a lot of information, you know?”) Like Chief Hoss, Sergeant Schmit assured us that there are people who stalk Sheriff’s Office employees, for reasons such as resentment over receiving a speeding ticket.
Some interesting tidbits about body cams: the Sheriff’s Office has only been using them for about six months, so officers often forget they are wearing them and say things they shouldn’t. Locker room talk, for example. However, Sergeant Schmidt loves the cams because they make his job so much easier. If someone complains about excessive use of force, for example, there is body cam footage–both video and audio–to either back up the claim or disprove it. The downside: you have to review body cam footage over and over to be certain you get all the information you can out of it. And some of the things Sergeant Schmidt has had to watch over and over were difficult to see.
With that in mind, let’s talk about discipline! To quote Deputy Schmidt: “It’s a broad and fluid spectrum. You have to look at The Totality of Circumstances.” I capitalize this because we heard the phrase “totality of circumstances” no less than five dozen times. What Sergeant Schmidt needs is a handheld sign with “Totality of Circumstances” printed on both sides. He can carry it around with him and hold it up during confrontations with the public, the courts, the prosecutors, his coworkers and the friends of the accused who are planning to TP his house. “People. There are reasons. I did not pull this decision out of a warm, dark place. You have to look at The Totality of Circumstances. Observe the sign.”
Discipline levels:
Oral repremand (this will still be documented to prove the incident occurred)
Written reprimend (an official letter in the employee’s file)
Financial impact (time off, possibly without pay. Suspension is known in cop circles as “at the beach.”)
Termination (lying is grounds for immediate termination. Quoting Sergeant Schmidt: “You lie, you die. Dishonesty equals fired.”)
What sort of disciplinary measures are used? Well, after all, one must look at The Totality of Circumstances. Often, the employee is required to do remedial training: firearm usage, sensitivity, proper approach to search and seizure.
One of the class attendees asks if someone who is terminated in one state can get work as a police officer in a different state.
Sergeant Schmidt: “Not here. Probably not any state that does a thorough background check. Maybe they’re more lenient in the south. Mississippi–who knows what they’re doing?”
Sergeant Schmidt told us a story about a past case: A woman with mental issues had contacted the police, because she was sure one of the employees was giving information about her to her ex-husband. This allegation seemed dubious in light of past encounters the police had with the woman. And a preliminary check didn’t find evidence of wrongdoing. However, once Sergeant Schmidt checked the employee’s journal, he discovered that the employee had, indeed, been giving out confidential information.
(Why did the employee journal about this? A question for which I have no answer.)
Sergeant Schmidt moved on to the Q&A portion. And at last – at last! – I got to ask:
What is a Marijuana Leaf Inspector?
“Oh, back before marijuana was LEGAL, not like it is now, but before it was LEGAL, I used to. . .” (Sergeant Schmidt proceeds to outline a series of tests, which involved small samples and slides and test tubes and a variety of chemicals with multisyllabic names.) The information these tests yielded would then be used in court. But that was long ago, before marijuana was LEGAL.
With that, we reached the end of the class, although Sergeant Schmidt will be instructing us again when it is time to visit the firing range. (“I’ve got some really interesting things planned for you guys.”)
As long as Tangentia is not allowed to touch a gun, I am sure I will enjoy the experience very much.
