Title 5, Police, Firefighters, Medical Examiner, and Forensic Sciences.

The Council of the District of Columbia finds that: (1) The District of Columbia delegated to the Metropolitan Police Department (“MPD”) the vital task of protecting the safety of persons and property in the District of Columbia. This task is difficult, dangerous, and sensitive. …

The purpose of this subchapter is to establish an effective, efficient, and fair system of independent review of citizen complaints against police officers in the District of Columbia, which will: (1) Be visible to and easily accessible to the public; (2) Investigate promptly and…

For purposes of this subchapter, the term: (1) “Board” means the Police Complaints Board. (2) “Complaint examiner” means the person designated by the Executive Director to determine the merits of a complaint. (3) “Executive Director” means the head of the Office of Police Complai…

(a) There is established a Police Complaints Board (“Board”). The Board shall be composed of 5 members, one of whom shall be a member of the MPD, and 4 of whom shall have no current affiliation with any law enforcement agency. All members of the Board shall be residents of the Di…

(a) There is established an Office of Police Complaints (“Office”). (b) The Office shall be headed by an Executive Director. The Executive Director shall be an attorney who is an active member in good standing of the District of Columbia Bar. The Board shall appoint the Executive…

(a) The Executive Director shall employ qualified persons or utilize the services of qualified volunteers, as necessary, to perform the work of the Office, including the investigation of complaints. The Executive Director may employ persons on a full-time or part-time basis, or r…

(a) The Office shall have the authority to receive and to dismiss, conciliate, mediate, or adjudicate a citizen complaint against a member or members of the MPD, and any other agency pursuant to subsection (j) of this section that alleges abuse or misuse of police powers by such …

A complaint may be dismissed on the following grounds: (1) The complaint is deemed to lack merit; (2) The complainant refuses to cooperate with the investigation; or (3) If, after the Executive Director refers a complaint for mediation, the complainant willfully fails to particip…

(a) When, in the determination of the Executive Director, there is reason to believe that the misconduct alleged in a complaint or disclosed by an investigation of the complaint may be criminal in nature, the Executive Director shall refer the matter to the United States Attorney…

(a) If deemed appropriate by the Executive Director, and if the parties agree to participate in a conciliation process, the Executive Director may attempt to resolve a complaint by conciliation. (b)(1) The conciliation of a complaint shall be evidenced by a written agreement sign…

(a) If the Executive Director refers a complaint for investigation, the Executive Director shall assign an investigator to investigate the complaint. (b) If the complainant refuses to cooperate in the investigation, the Executive Director may dismiss the complaint in accordance w…

(a) Upon receipt of a complaint file in which one or more allegations in a complaint has been sustained, the Police Chief shall cause the file to be reviewed within 5 working days after receiving the complaint file. This review shall not be conducted by persons from the same orga…

(a) An order of the Executive Director dismissing a complaint shall be a final resolution of the complaint by the Office. Such order shall be neither appealable to nor reviewable by any other entity, administrative or judicial. (b) An order of the Executive Director dismissing a …

(a) The MPD shall have full authority, under the procedures established pursuant to § 5-133.06, to initiate disciplinary proceedings against an officer of the MPD with respect to a charge of misconduct within the scope of § 5-1107 prior to the timely filing of a complaint with th…

(a) There are authorized such funds as may be necessary to support the Board and the Office. (b) The establishment of the Board and the Office are dependent upon the availability of appropriated funds. (c) Any entitlement to compensation under this chapter for services rendered s…

For purposes of this chapter: (1) “State” means the several states of the United States, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Guam. (1-a) “State agent” means any person compensated directly or indirectly by a state or who in any way assists in the administration o…

(a) Notwithstanding any other law or provision of law, including any executive agreements or understandings, any state official coming into the District of Columbia: (1) to enforce that state’s laws relating to tobacco or tobacco products, including any law levying a tax on tobac…

The Mayor of the District of Columbia is authorized and directed to accept and maintain for the District of Columbia the gift of a memorial fountain to the members of the Metropolitan Police Department; provided, that the design and model of the memorial fountain are approved by …

(a) Any officer or member of the Metropolitan Police force or of the Fire Department of the District of Columbia, who served in the Armed Forces of the United States during the period beginning May 1, 1940, and ending December 31, 1946, and: (1) whose name appeared during such se…

No officer or member of the Metropolitan Police force or of the Fire Department of the District of Columbia shall, by reason of the enactment of § 5-1302, be: (1) Reduced in rank or grade; or (2) Entitled to any compensation for any period prior to July 1, 1947.

(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply, unless the context requires otherwise: (1) “Authorizing official” means the Mayor of the District of Columbia in the cases of the Metropolitan Police force and the Fire Department of the District of Columbia, and …

If an officer or member of the Metropolitan Police force, the Fire Department of the District of Columbia, or the United States Park Police force engages in educational course work in police or fire science or administration, and, if he is eligible for payments or reimbursements …

For the purpose of §§ 5-1306 to 5-1309, “emergency” means a condition or circumstance in which an individual is or is reasonably believed by the person transmitting a communication referred to in § 5-1307 to be in imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm or in which proper…

It shall be unlawful for any person to do the following: (1) Knowingly, intentionally, recklessly, or with culpable negligence interrupt, disrupt, impede, or otherwise interfere with the transmission of a 2-way radio communication, the purpose of which is to inform or to inquire …

Any person who violates any provision of §§ 5-1306 to 5-1309, upon conviction, shall be subject to a fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment of not more than 90 days, or both.

(a) Any 2-way radio and related equipment used to commit a violation of §§ 5-1306 to 5-1309 shall be subject to forfeiture. (b) Property subject to forfeiture under §§ 5-1306 to 5-1309 may be seized by law-enforcement officials, as designated by the Mayor, upon process issued by …

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, Inc., is authorized to establish the National Law Enforcement Heroes Memorial on federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs to honor law enforcement officers who die in the line of duty.

(a) The Mayor shall obtain and review the design and plans for the memorial and, after consultation with the Council and the Joint Committee on Judicial Administration of the District of Columbia Courts, transmit recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior, the Commission of…

The District of Columbia shall not pay any expenses of the establishment or maintenance of the memorial.

(a) For the purposes of this chapter, the term: (1) “District” means the District of Columbia. (2) “Legal custody” includes imprisonment, jail, or detention. (3) “Ward” means any person in the official custody of the District government, on a temporary or permanent basis, because…

(a) There is established as a subordinate agency in the executive branch of the government of the District of Columbia, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (“OCME”). (b) The Mayor shall nominate, with the advice and consent of the Council, a person to serve as the Chief Medi…

(a) The CME shall appoint such qualified professional, investigative, technical and clerical personnel as the OCME may require, including administrators, medicolegal investigators, and a General Counsel. The General Counsel shall be appointed pursuant to subchapter VIII-B of Chap…

(a) The CME shall be responsible for all the medical functions formerly performed by the coroner in the District of Columbia consistent with the provisions of this chapter. The CME and such other medical examiners as may be appointed may administer oaths and affirmations and take…

(a) The CME, other medical examiners, and medicolegal investigators (physician assistants or advanced practice registered nurses) licensed under subchapter V of Chapter 12 of Title 3, are authorized to make determinations of death. (b) Pursuant to regulations established by the M…

(a) For all deaths described in § 5-1405(b), the CME shall take charge of the body upon the mandatory and direct notification of the death required by subsection (b) of this section. The CME, or duly authorized representatives of the CME, shall have authority to respond to the sc…

The CME is authorized to issue a subpoena for confidential medical records and relevant information from physicians, hospitals, nursing homes, residential care facilities and other health care providers as in his or her opinion is necessary for investigating deaths under this cha…

(a) At the scene of any death subject to investigation under § 5-1405(b), the medical examiner, a medicolegal investigator, or a law enforcement officer shall take possession of any objects or articles which, in his or her opinion, may be useful in establishing the cause and mann…

(a) If, in the opinion of the CME, the cause and manner of death are established with a reasonable medical certainty, the CME shall complete a report of the medical examination of the decedent. (b) If, in the opinion of the CME, or the United States Attorney, further investigatio…

(a) If an autopsy is performed by a pathologist other than a medical examiner by request of the CME, the pathologist shall furnish to the CME, a complete record of the findings and conclusions of the autopsy. The CME, or assigned medical examiner, shall thereupon prepare a report…

(a) Following investigation or autopsy, the CME shall release the body of the decedent to the person having the right to the body for the purpose of burial or other disposition pursuant to law. If after a reasonable time, established by regulation by the Mayor, no authorized pers…

(a) The CME shall be responsible for maintaining full and complete records and files, properly indexed, giving the name, if known, of every person whose death is investigated, the place where the body was found, the date, cause and manner of death and all other relevant informati…

The records maintained pursuant to § 5-1412, or reproductions thereof certified by the CME, are admissible as evidence in any court in the District; except that, statements made by witnesses or other persons and conclusions upon nonmedical matters are not admissible.

In the case of unexplained, sudden, violent, or suspicious death, when the body is buried without investigation, or there has been an inadequate investigation, the United States Attorney, on his or her own motion, or on request of a medical examiner, or the Metropolitan Police De…

All positions, personnel, property, records, and unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, and other funds available or to be available to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and all the functions assigned and authority delegated to the Office of the Chief Medical …

(a) The Mayor shall promulgate proposed regulations to implement the provisions of this chapter. The proposed regulations shall be submitted to the Council for a 45-day period of review, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, legal holidays, and days of Council recess. If the Council does…

(a) The CME shall be responsible for ensuring the accuracy of blood and urine testing for the District’s impaired driving program. The CME may test or authorize the testing of specimens, as defined by § 50-1901(18), for the purposes of determining if specimens contain alcohol or …