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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Sixth Legislature, Second Regular Session
peace officer violence victims' rights
Purpose
Grants a victim of peace officer violence and the victim's family with certain outlined rights. Requires all investigative materials to refer to individuals who experience police violence as victims and not suspects and requires Arizona to fully fund an independent nonprofit legal and advocacy organization to provide legal counsel and healing support services following a critical incident to victims of peace officer violence or the victim's family, or both. Requires that a peace officer who is involved in a shooting or in-custody death be permanently removed from any law enforcement role and that the peace officer's pension be permanently withheld.
Background
To preserve and protect victims' rights to justice and due process, a victim of a crime has a right to: 1) be treated with fairness, respect, and dignity, and to be free from intimidation, harassment, or abuse, throughout the criminal justice process; 2) be present at and, upon request, to be informed of all criminal proceedings where the defendant has the right to be present; 3) be heard at any proceeding involving a post-arrest release decision, a negotiated plea and sentencing; 4) receive prompt restitution from the person or persons convicted of the criminal conduct that caused the victim's loss or injury; 5) have all rules governing criminal procedure and the admissibility of evidence in all criminal proceedings protect victims' rights and to have these rules be subject to amendment or repeal by the legislature to ensure the protection of these rights; and 6) to be informed of victims' constitutional rights (Ariz. Const. art. 2 § 2.1).
As soon after the detection of a criminal offense as the victim may be contacted without interfering with an investigation or arrest, the law enforcement agency that has the responsibility for investigating the criminal offense must provide electronic forms, pamphlets, information cards or other materials to the victim that provide notice to the victim of: 1) the names and telephone numbers of public and private victim assistance programs, including the county victim compensation program and programs that provide counseling, treatment and other support services; 2) the police report number, if available, and other identifying case information; and 3) if the suspect is an adult and has been arrested, the victim's right, on request, to be informed of the suspects release, of the next regularly scheduled time, place and date for initial appearances in the jurisdiction and of the victim's right to be heard at the initial appearance (A.R.S. § 13-4405).
A victim, the victims attorney or an immediate family member of the victim of a criminal offense or a delinquent act has a right to request a copy of the police report, transcript and video recordings from the investigating law enforcement agency free of charge (A.R.S. § 39-127).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Stipulates that to preserve and protect the rights of victims of peace officer violence and the victim's family to justice and due process, a peace officer violence victim and the victim's family have the right to:
a) be treated with fairness, respect and dignity and to be free from intimidation, harassment and abuse following an injury or death resulting from a peace officer interaction;
b) free access to legal and community support following a critical incident;
c) delay or refuse an interview, deposition or other discovery request from an investigative agency without fear of intimidation or retaliation;
d) be free from an investigator's false or misleading information and opinion before the investigation is concluded;
e) have all conversations with and updates from an investigative agency in the preferred language of the victim or the victim's family, or both;
f) have free, quick and unredacted access to information, materials and findings that are relevant to the victim's injury or death, with an opportunity to review the information, materials and findings for up to 48 hours before the information is made publicly available;
g) request that any images of the victim be blurred before a document or footage is publicly released;
h) have free, quick and unredacted access to all employment files of the peace officer or peace officers involved in the critical incident, including disciplinary history, use of force history, complaint history, personnel files, Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board files and training history;
i) be informed of, present at and, on request, heard at all investigative and disciplinary proceedings where the peace officer or peace officers involved in the critical incident have the right to be present;
j) be notified of any investigative milestones and outcomes on the investigation's completion at least 24 hours before the public is notified;
k) petition the county attorney who has jurisdiction to reopen a case against the peace officer or peace officers involved in the critical incident if the county attorney does not initiate a charge against the peace officer or peace officers;
l) have any personal belongings that were logged as evidence authorized for release within 24 hours after the criminal investigation into the peace officer or peace officers is closed or within 90 days after the critical incident, whichever occurs first;
m) access supportive services and restitution that are paid for by the municipality where the critical incident occurred; and
n) discuss and participate in any policy changes and reform efforts in the police department.
2. Prohibits a victim's family from being questioned by investigators or peace officers for at least 24 hours following a critical incident.
3. Requires an investigative attorney to make an interpreter or multilingual representative available within one hour after a critical incident and for the duration of the investigation for a non-English speaking victim, the victim's family and any witnesses.
4. Requires that a peace officer who is involved in a shooting or in-custody death be permanently removed from any law enforcement role and that the peace officer's pension be permanently withheld.
5. Requires the role of the peace officer or peace officers involved in a critical incident be reviewed and that removal of the peace officer or peace officers be considered.
6. Requires unedited and unredacted body-worn camera footage, incident reports, bystander footage and surveillance video to be shared with the victim's family within 72 hours after the critical incident.
7. Requires the victim and the victim's family to be provided with an opportunity to review any documents and footage 48 hours before the information is released to the media or the public.
8. Requires that the victim, the victim's family and the victim's attorney, if any, be provided, free of charge and without submitting a public records request, with access to the name, photograph, disciplinary records, complaint records and use of force records of the peace officer or peace officers involved in the critical incident within 72 hours after the critical incident.
9. Requires that the victim's family be provided with free access to the complete and unredacted investigative file from all investigative agencies without submitting a public records request after the investigation is completed.
10. Requires investigators and victim advocates to respond within 24 hours to a question from the victim or the victim's family.
11. Requires the independent victim advocate to provide monthly updates to the victim and the victim's family on the status of the investigation.
12. Allows a victim whose case has been closed and the victim's family to reopen a case without the case being referred from the investigating law enforcement agency.
13. Requires the process for reopening a case to be clearly written and shared with the victim and the victim's family when criminal charges are not filed against the peace officer or peace officers involved in the critical incident.
14. Requires personal belongings that are not logged as evidence to be released within 14 days after the critical incident.
15. Requires that the victim and the victim's family be given a complete list of all personal belongings that have been logged as evidence.
16. Stipulates that the victim, the victim's family and any witnesses have the right to free wraparound support services, including trauma care and mental health services.
17. Requires that the victim and the victim's family have the opportunity to give input on policy changes and reform efforts at the police department or any other entity that is involved with the investigation.
18. Requires the governing body of each municipality to establish a victim advocate role, independent of the police department.
19. Requires the victim advocate to report to the scene of a critical incident to connect with the victim, the victim's family and any witnesses with appropriate services.
20. Requires a victim's family to be notified immediately following any physical harm caused to the victim by a peace officer.
21. Prohibits any identifying information and the health status of the victim and details regarding the critical incident from being publicly released until the victim's family is informed.
22. Allows the victim's identifying information and health status to be released 24 hours after the critical incident if every possible attempt to reach the victim's family have been exhausted.
23. Prohibits the police department from publicly sharing the details of the critical incident that could shape the public narrative about the incident including what preceded the incident and what happened during the incident, until the victim or the victim's family, or both, has had an opportunity to review any body-worn camera footage and incident reports.
24. Requires a police report and all investigative material to refer to individuals who experience police violence as victims and not as suspects.
25. Requires any form that is currently in use on the general effective date to be changed to refer to individuals who experience peace officer violence as victims.
26. Prohibits a municipality or police department from publicly releasing false, misleading or incomplete information about a critical incident or the victims of peace officer violence.
27. Requires Arizona to fully fund an independent nonprofit legal and advocacy organization to provide legal counsel and healing support services following a critical incident to victims of peace officer violence or the victim's family, or both.
28. Requires that the outlined services be provided free of charge and include a peace officer misconduct attorney, legal advocate, trauma recovery service provider and other support that is independent of the police department and the municipality.
29. Requires that the victim or the victim's family, or both, also be provided with access to an independent medical examination or autopsy, or both.
30. Stipulates that before speaking to an investigator or a peace officer, the victim of a critical incident, the victim's family and any witnesses to the critical incident must have the opportunity to speak with and be joined by legal counsel, an independent victim advocate and a family member of the victim's choice.
31. Requires each investigative agency to establish a clear and written explanation of the following, which is allowed to be provided through a victim advocate or legal advocate, or both:
a) the critical incident investigation process;
b) what the victim, the victim's family and any witnesses might expect to occur throughout the investigative process; and
c) information about the victim and the victim's family's rights.
32. Defines victim as a person who experiences injury or death resulting from a peace officer interaction, regardless of the status or outcome, or both, of the criminal investigation, civil investigation and disciplinary action that are taken by the peace officer's police department.
33. Defines victim's family as the victim's partner, child, parent, sibling or other lawful representative.
34. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Research
February 13, 2024
ZD/SB/cs