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2008 SESSION
081729220Patrons-- Deeds, Barker, Cuccinelli, Edwards, Lucas, Petersen and Puller; Delegate: Mathieson
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 9.1-501 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 9.1-501. Conduct of investigation.
The provisions of this section shall apply whenever an investigation by an agency focuses on matters which could lead to an adverse personnel action, to include the dismissal, demotion, suspension, written reprimand, or transfer for punitive reasons of a law-enforcement officer:
1. Any questioning of the officer shall take place at a reasonable time and place as designated by the investigating officer, preferably when the officer under investigation is on duty and at the office of the command of the investigating officer or at the office of the local precinct or police unit of the officer being investigated, unless matters being investigated are of such a nature that immediate action is required.
2. Any officer under investigation shall be entitled to effective counsel by an attorney or any other person of the officer's choice, such as an employee representative, or both, immediately prior to and during the entire period of any questioning session unless the officer consents in writing to being questioned outside the presence of counsel or representative. The officer under investigation shall pay the cost of any attorney or other representation.
2 Prior
to the officer being questioned, he shall be informed of (i) 3. An officer under investigation shall be notified at least 24 hours prior to the
commencement of questioning or otherwise being required to provide information
to the investigating agency. Such notice shall include the nature and scope of
the investigation, a detailed description of any allegation contained in the
written complaint, a description of each violation alleged in the complaint for
which suspicion exists that the officer may have engaged in conduct that would
be subject to disciplinary action, and the name and,
rank, and command
of the investigating officer and of any or individual to be present during the questioning and (ii) the
nature of who will be conducting the
investigation. The complainant shall not conduct or supervise the
investigation or serve as an investigator.
34. When a
blood or urine specimen is taken from a law-enforcement officer for the purpose
of determining whether the officer has used drugs or alcohol, the specimen
shall be divided and placed into two separate containers. One specimen shall be
tested while the other is held in a proper manner to preserve the specimen by
the facility collecting or testing the specimen. Should the first specimen test
positive, the law-enforcement officer shall have the right to require the
second specimen be sent to a laboratory of his choice for independent testing
in accordance generally with the procedures set forth in §§ 18.2-268.1 through
18.2-268.12. The officer shall notify the chief of his agency in writing of his
request within 10 days of being notified of positive specimen results. The
laboratory chosen by the officer shall be accredited or certified by one or
more of the following bodies: the American Society of Crime Laboratory
Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB), the College of American
Pathologists (CAP), the United States Department of Health and Human Services
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), or the
American Board of Forensic Toxicology (ABFT).
5. At the conclusion of the investigation, the officer under investigation shall have the opportunity to review the file prepared by the investigating officer, including, but not limited to, transcripts of interviews by the officer, witnesses, and the complainant.