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Citizen Complaint Form

INTRODUCTION TO THE COMPLIANT PROCESS

The Notre Dame College Police Department is committed to providing quality, professional and courteous service to all individuals we interact with.

Our work impacts the quality of life of many.  To show our promise of fairness, respect and professionalism, all employees of this Division are to uphold to the Divisions police code of ethics, rules, policies, orders, directives, core values, as well as all city, state and federal laws that relate to their employment.  The citizen complaint process is designed to provide individuals with a way to express their concerns about police service.  This system provides a fair, factual and objective review of an individual’s concern.

NOTE:  Complaints about the underlying reason for a traffic citation, parking ticket or criminal arrest (or summons) must be resolved by the court and cannot be investigated as a complaint against a Division Police employee.

HOW TO FILE A COMPLAINT

First, decide what you think the employee did wrong.  For example, do you believe:

  •         An officer used excessive force during an arrest?
  •         An employee was rude, discourteous or unprofessional.
  •         An officer violated you rights?
  •         You believe you were racially profiled?
  •         Sexual misconduct or criminal conduct.

All complaints should be filed with 60 days of the incident, unless there are special circumstances.  Complaints filed immediately improve the investigators chance of gathering factual information.

To file a complaint, contact the Division by one of the following methods:

  •         Online:  Please complete the below online Complaint Form and submit it.  Please include as much detail as possible, especially contact information so we can contact you immediately to set up a time to have you come for an interview with one of our investigators.
  •         In Person: You can file your compliant in person, at 4545 College Road, South Euclid, Ohio between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. daily.  A complaint form will be provided to you, no questions asked.  Complaints forms are also available on the display case outside the police station doors.  Access to the college may be limited during holidays or breaks.  The Police Department is located on the Ground Floor of the Administration Building.

Upon reviewing your compliant, the complaint will be investigated in compliance with the Notre Dame College Police Policy Manual.  You will be contacted with 72 hours (business hours) by an investigator.  If you have not been contacted within this time frame, please contact the Chief of Police at 216-373-5407.

You can elect to remain anonymous while filing a complaint, however, all complaints must be in writing (online form or in-person form).  Please note, anonymous complaints are extremely difficult to investigate properly and will become more difficult without contact information due to the ability to further clarify the complaint and the investigation is compromised.  Anonymous complaints may result in a Not-Sustained, Unfounded or Exonerated status action.

INVESTIGATON OF YOUR COMPLIANT

The investigator assigned to your complaint will conduct a detailed investigation of the incident and gather statements from you and any witnesses you or they have identified.  Your assistance is expected and additional information may be needed.  If you filed an online complaint, the investigator will need you to sign the complaint form before the investigation will continue.  If the accusation is serious, you may be asked to submit to a polygraph or voice stress analysis test.  This does not mean the investigator thinks you are lying, but wants to further prove the truthfulness of your accusation.

When the investigation is complete, the investigator will give a written report to the Chief of Police.  The Chief of Police will decide the ultimate outcome and your will be notified.

OUTCOME OF YOUR COMPLIANT

You will receive a letter by mail or email, stating the outcome of your complaint.  Please be aware that a detailed investigation and review of the facts will take time.  You may not be notified about the final outcome for several weeks.  If the compliant requires an extensive investigation, it may take longer.  The investigator will keep you informed of the status and advise you of any unusual delays.  Most investigations are completed within 90 days after filing the complaint.

OUTCOME FINDINGS

Your investigation will result in one of the following findings:

Sustained – The accusation is supported by evidence.  Depending on the severity of the action, a sustained finding may result in disciplinary action.

Not Sustained – There is not enough evidence to either prove or disprove the accusation.

Unfounded – There is no evidence to support the accusation.

Exonerated – The accusation is true, but the action taken by the employee was legal and appropriate for the situation.

Policy/Procedure – The accusation was clearly about the proper use of an approve Division Policy.

Unable to Resolve – There is not enough information to complete an investigation.

FALSE COMPLAINTS

The Division of Police is committed to investigating concerns of employee misconduct.  Officers can be targets of false complaints by people who seek revenge on them for doing their lawful duties.  The Ohio Revised Code (O.R.C. 2921.15) makes it a Misdemeanor of the first degree to knowingly file a false complaint of misconduct against a peace officer.  The Division feels that people need t know the law exists and that when appropriate, the charge will be filed against violators of this law.  Please remember, it is not only expensive to investigate false complaints, but can also affect an officer’s career.  This information is given not to keep people from filing complaints when they have a legitimate complaint, but to inform them of the law.

Notre Dame College Complaint Form

 

Please use this form if you wish to file an online Citizen’s Complaint regarding a Notre Dame College police officer.

Please fill in as much information as possible.

If you have supplemental information, such as additional officers or witnesses, you may include this information in the details section of the form.

After you press the Submit button, your complaint will be immediately emailed to the Internal Investigations Section and reviewed during normal business hours.

It is a violation of Ohio law to file a false complaint against a police officer (Ohio Revised Code 2921.15)