5.10 LEOBR Hearing Board

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Centreville Police Department
Title: LEOBR Hearing Board Directive #: 5.10
Issued: 10.1.2016 Revised: 10.1.2016
Approved by: Charles M. Rhodes, Jr.
Chief of Police
A. Purpose
To provide an overview of the procedures that are followed in a hearing board.
B. Policy
The CPD will conduct hearing boards in appropriate circumstances that comply with the Law Enforcement
Officers Bill of Rights.
C. Procedures
1. Cases Referred to a Hearing Board
Cases referred to a Hearing Board (Board) result from the:
a. refusal of an officer to accept Summary Punishment;
b. failure of an officer to acknowledge an offer of Summary Punishment within five working
days after receiving the Notification of Charges form; and
c. referral of charges by the Chief.
2. Criminal Investigations
a. In general, no departmental hearing, except a suspension review hearing, will be held on
any charges that relate to conduct which is also the subject of a criminal proceeding, until
such time as all criminal charges are disposed of.
b. The CPD retains the discretion to make an exception to the general rule if it determines
that the morale, operation or best interests of the CPD would be adversely affected by
the failure to hold a hearing.
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c. The decision of the CPD to hold a hearing may not be the subject of a grievance.
3. Type of Hearing Board
The Chief or his designee will coordinate and direct CPD administrative hearings.
a. The Chief or his designee will:
(1) designate either a one-member or three-member Board;
(2) assign a hearing officer as chair, who should not have participated in the
investigation or interrogation of the officer;
(3) assign the board members of a three member Board, none of whom will have
participated in the investigation of the officer who is the subject of the hearing;
(4) assign at least one Board member who is the same rank as the officer who is the
subject of the hearing;
(5) issue a Special Order to convene the Board;
(6) forward copies of the special order and ‘Notification of Charges’ form to the
the Board member(s) and the officer.
4. Administrative Procedures Prior to Hearing
a. Board member(s) may NOT review the case file and may only review the
information contained in the ‘Notification of Charges’ form.
b The officer is entitled to a copy of the investigative file, at no cost, not less than 30 days
before the hearing date.
c. The identity of confidential sources and non-exculpatory information will be excluded
from the case file.
d. The officer will complete a confidentiality agreement regarding use and disclosure
of information from the case file.
5. Pre-Hearing Procedures
a. The Chair will:
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(1) contact the officer’s representative, the Prosecutor and the board members to
arrange a mutually convenient date for the hearing that is at least 30 days after
the date that the officer’s representative received a copy of all charges and the
internal investigation material, unless a shorter period is mutually agreed upon by
the officer’s representative and the department.
b. prepare a ‘Notification of Hearing’ form, and a ‘Notification of Evidence/Document
Receipt’, and forward these to the officer’s commander.
c The officer’s commander will serve the ‘Notification of Hearing’ form on the officer and
return a signed copy to the Chair.
d. The Chair will provide a copy of the ‘Notification of Hearing’ form to the Prosecutor and
Board members.
e. The accused officer will provide his representative with a copy of the ‘Notification of
Hearing’ form.
f. If either the Prosecutor or the officer’s representative requires summonses, or if evidence
will be presented, he will return the ‘Notification of Evidence/Document Receipt’ to the
Chair not less than 10 days prior to the hearing date.
g. Requests for postponements will be directed to the Chair and granted only for good
cause.
h. Requests to amend charges will be directed to the Chair; an amended charge could result
in a postponement of the hearing.
i. If a penalty which differs from the Disciplinary Matrix category is sought by the
prosecutor, notice will be given to the officer no less than ten days prior to the hearing.
6. Conducting the Hearing Board
a. Hearings are conducted by the Chair unless otherwise designated.
b. The accused shall not carry or wear any weapons into the hearing and they must be
secured outside the hearing room.
c. Hearings will be recorded and a record maintained any time the recording is stopped and
restarted.
d. All hearings are considered to be open.
e. Documents accepted into evidence will be marked for identification and retained as part
of the record.
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f. Motions and stipulations may be heard; the Chair may rule or recess the Board to discuss
matters with the Board members.
g. The Chair will administer oaths or affirmations and examine any individual under oath.
h. Brief opening statements, by the prosecutor and the defense representative may be
made.
i. The prosecutor will present his case-in-chief and bears the burden of proof.
j. The defense may, but is not required to, present its case.
k. Each party has a right to cross-examine each witness who testifies for the other party.
l. Redirect and re-cross examination is limited to matters covered in a preceding
examination.
m. The Board may question each witness.
n. Rebuttal evidence by both parties may be presented.
o. Closing Arguments include a:
• summation presented by the prosecutor;
• summation presented by the defense; and
• rebuttal if the prosecutor chooses to present one.
p. The Board members will clear the hearing room to decide guilt or innocence on each
charge.
7. Decision of the Hearing Board
a. The Board will reconvene the hearing.
b. The Chair will notify all interested parties of the finding and recommended penalty for
each charge.
c. When a Board recommends termination, the Chief will immediately be notified.
8. Hearing Board Report
a. Within five days, the Board report should be completed and submitted to the Chief.
b. Conclusions made by the Board will be explained in a concise written statement and must
be supported by a finding of fact.
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c. A copy of the report will be forwarded to CPD Legal Counsel so it may be reviewed
for legal sufficiency.
d. Legal Counsel will acknowledge receipt of the report, review it within five working days
and return it to the Chief.
e. The Board report will be signed by the Board members.
9. Chief's Review
a. Within 30 days of receipt of the Board report the Chief will:
(1) review the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the hearing board; and
(2) issue a final order.
b. The Chief may increase or decrease a recommended penalty; if he chooses to increase the
penalty, the Superintendent must:
(1) review the entire record of the proceedings of the Board;
(2) meet with the officer and allow him to be heard on the record;
(3) disclose and provide in writing to the officer, at least 10 days before the
meeting, any oral or written communication not included in the record of the
Board on which the decision to consider increasing the penalty is wholly or partly
based; and
(4) state on the record the substantial evidence relied on to support the increase of
the recommended penalty.
c. A copy of the Board report will be forwarded to the officer or his representative by the
Chief.
d. The Chief’s decision is final.
10. Post-Hearing Procedures
a. Document Distribution
(1) For guilty findings, the Chief will notify Town Human Resources and issue a
Personnel Order to the Town Manager and to the trooper.
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11. Appeal Process
A officer may appeal the Chief’s decision to the Circuit Court in the respective county.
12. Fee Schedule
a. Reimbursement for Travel
(1) Travel may be reimbursed up to $20.00 per day per witness.
(2) A witness who misses work may be reimbursed at the rate of $4.00 per hour up
to $32.00 per day, excluding travel time.
(3) Mileage is reimbursed per the State of Maryland Standard Travel Guide.
b Cost for Reproduction of Materials
(1) Transcribe recordings: $2.50 per page.
(2) Photocopy existing documents: $.50 per page.
(3) Duplicate recording: $5.00 per tape or CD.
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