Boca Raton Police Services Employee Catastrophic Injuries or Death Procedure PDF

BOCA RATON POLICE SERVICES DEPARTMENT Standard Operating Procedure 22.02 EMPLOYEE CATASTROPHIC INJURIES OR DEATH Revised: December 11, 2019 I. PURPOSE: The purpose of this standard operating procedure is to set guidelines for the Boca Raton Police Services Department when responding to the catast...

BOCA RATON POLICE SERVICES DEPARTMENT Standard Operating Procedure 22.02 EMPLOYEE CATASTROPHIC INJURIES OR DEATH Revised: December 11, 2019 I. PURPOSE: The purpose of this standard operating procedure is to set guidelines for the Boca Raton Police Services Department when responding to the catastrophic injury or death of a Department employee. II. DEFINITIONS: Benefits Coordinator: A member of the Traumatic Event Coordination Team who will serve as a liaison between the family and the City’s Management Services to assist member benefits. Catastrophic Injury: An injury that results in permanent impairment from a spinal cord injury involving severe paralysis of an arm, leg, or the trunk; or amputation of an arm, hand, foot, or leg involving the effective use of that appendage, or severe brain or closed-head injury. Family Liaison Officer: A member of the Traumatic Event Coordination Team who facilitates communication between the family and the Department and works closely with family members. Family Notification Officer: An employee selected by the chief of police or his/her designee to make notification to the next of kin/emergency contacts. Line of Duty Death: The death of an employee which occurs while performing police functions either on or off duty. A line-of duty death will be sub-classified as either: Killed in the Line-of-Duty: An employee who is killed as a result of a violent act committed by another, or Died in the Line-of-Duty: An employee who dies as a result of accidental means or natural causes (e.g. traffic accident, heart attack or other non-violent incident) Non-Duty Death: the death of an employee as a result of a non-duty related illness or injury. Death while Retired: The death of an employee who is in good standing and is fully separated via retirement. Other Death: Any case of death not specifically defined above, to include suicide. Next of Kin: The deceased person’s closest living relative. A person’s closest relatives are normally: spouse, children, parents, siblings, grandparents, in that order. However, for purposes of death notification the next of kin to be notified would be that person who could reasonably be depended upon to notify the other living blood relatives of the death. This person may or may not be the designated emergency contact. Effective: May 31, 2000 Revised: December 11, 2019 Employee Catastrophic Injuries or Death SOP No. 22.02 Page 1 of 7 Traumatic Event Coordination Team: A team assigned to coordinate the Department's involvement and participation in a catastrophic injury or death post-incident response. Traumatic Event Coordination Team Leader: A bureau commander will be assigned by the chief of police or his/her designee that shall coordinate the overall command of the catastrophic injury or death post incident response. III. ON-SCENE RESPONSIBILITIES: A. EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBILITIES: 1. The first employee to arrive on-scene shall perform an initial assessment of the incident to include determining what type of response is required, if additional employees are required, and what hazards are present. The first responding employee shall contact Communications Section employees and relay this information and request a supervisor. 2. The first employee arriving on-scene shall be the incident commander until relieved by a supervisor. 3. When a catastrophic injury or felonious or accidental line of duty death occurs, the first employee on scene shall advise the Communications Section that an employee death or catastrophic injury has occurred. 4. Employees shall not report the injured or fallen Department employees’ name(s) over the radio. 5. Employees shall not make any notifications or discuss the incident with individuals not directly involved until public announcement has been made. B. SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES: 1. Upon receiving information that an employee has suffered a catastrophic injury or has died, the supervisor shall notify his/her chain of command. 2. The employee’s emergency contact information along with any specific notification requests shall be obtained from RMS in the Employee Administration module for notification purposes. 3. The chief of police or his/her designee will designate the Family Notification Officer (FNO) to make the notification to next of kin/emergency contacts. 4. Before any notification of next-of-kin, it is imperative that the chief of police or his/her designee or any other person giving the death notification has knowledge of the circumstances leading to the injury or death. 5. The chief of police or his/her designee shall notify the city manager, after the appropriate family members have been notified. Effective: May 31, 2000 Revised: December 11, 2019 Employee Catastrophic Injuries or Death SOP No. 22.02 Page 2 of 7 6. The chief of police or his/her designee shall appoint a Traumatic Event Coordination Team (TECT) leader. IV. FAMILY NOTIFICATION: A. NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES: 1. Notification to the emergency contact and/or next of kin, if not the same, shall be made in person whenever possible and without unnecessary delay, so that the family does not learn of the injury or death through other means. 2. If notification is to take place outside Palm Beach, Broward or Miami-Dade counties, a request may be made to the appropriate agency to make notification. 3. The FNO should present their credentials, if necessary, and should make certain that the individuals he/she is about to notify of the tragedy, are in fact the injured or fallen employee’s next of kin and/or emergency contact. 4. The FNO should provide information about the incident and then answer any questions that the family may have. B. NOTIFICATION AT WORKPLACE PROCEDURES: 1. Speak to the family member’s manager/supervisor and ask if the person to be notified is available. The FNO has the discretion to inform the manager/supervisor of the nature of the visit if doing so will assist in the notification process. 2. Ask the manager/supervisor to arrange for a private location or room to conduct the notification without interruption. 3. If the family member leaves his/her vehicle at their workplace, arrangements should be made to ensure that the vehicle is returned to their home. C. NOTIFICATION AT SCHOOL: 1. If there are young children at school, the FNO will discuss notification arrangements with the adult family member and ensure that the family member's wishes are quickly acted upon. V. ASSISTING THE FAMILY: A. If the Department employee was transported to the hospital, the FNO will inform the family member(s) that they have a right to see him/her there and assist in transport in a department vehicle. B. Should the family refuse the offer to be driven in a Department vehicle and insist on driving in their own vehicle, the FNO should offer to ride with them. Effective: May 31, 2000 Revised: December 11, 2019 Employee Catastrophic Injuries or Death SOP No. 22.02 Page 3 of 7 C. A TECT member will be present while the family is at the hospital and arrange whatever assistance they need. D. Arrangements will be made for transportation of the family members to their residence from the hospital. E. The Incident Commander and/or designee will direct hospital staff to send all medical bills relating to the services rendered to the deceased or catastrophically injured employee to the City’s Management Services Office. VI. PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER: A. The public information officer (PIO) shall immediately proceed to the scene or hospital where the employee was taken and shall be responsible for establishing a staging area for the media. B. The PIO shall solicit whatever assistance is necessary from the FNO in order to properly coordinate the release of information to the media. C. If needed, another PIO shall be dispatched to the scene of the incident to coordinate media activities there and keep the PIO team advised of those activities. D. The PIO will assist the FNO in coordinating the family’s arrival and departure from the hospital. E. It shall be the responsibility of the PIO to coordinate all aspects and stages of the notification and coordination of information flow between Department, the media, and the FNO. F. The PIO shall at all times be mindful of the Department’s obligations under Florida State Statutes as it relates to the release of information in regard to an ongoing investigation. G. The PIO will work with the chief of police and/or the TECT leader to obtain the wishes of the family and any known wishes of the injured or fallen employee regarding media coverage of the employee’s personal life and the funeral arrangements. H. The PIO should provide an official statement that has been approved by the chief of police to the news media immediately. I. The PIO shall contact the chief of police and/or the incident commander before releasing any specific information regarding the event. J. The PIO shall interface with the news media, acting as the Department’s liaison to clarify any misunderstandings or perceived problems. VII. TRAUMATIC EVENT COORDINATION TEAM: A. The TECT leader will select his/her team members. Effective: May 31, 2000 Revised: December 11, 2019 Employee Catastrophic Injuries or Death SOP No. 22.02 Page 4 of 7 B. The TECT leader shall utilize Appendix A for the coordination of line of duty deaths for both law enforcement and civilian employees. C. The TECT leader shall utilize Appendix B for the coordination of non-line of duty deaths for currently employed law enforcement employees. D. The chief of police shall designate the Department's involvement in funerals for employed civilian employees, retired employees, and volunteers. E. No honors are obligated to be rendered for other deaths. F. Dependent on the circumstances of the incident, the chief of police or his/her designee shall ultimately decide the level of involvement in the services provided by the Department. VIII. THE FAMILY LIAISON OFFICER: A. The TECT leader will appoint a Department employee as the family liaison officer (FLO) to facilitate communications between the family and the Department. The FLO may be the employee specified in the Employee Information Form or an employee who will best fulfill the responsibilities of the FLO, as determined by the TECT leader. B. The FLO will be relieved of his/her normal assignment to be with the family. C. Upon being assigned as the FLO, the employee shall meet with the family and explain what his/her responsibilities shall be. D. The employee chosen to serve as the FLO will be issued a City cell phone (if one was not previously issued) to be constantly available to the family. E. The FLO will apprise the family of any subsequent information regarding the investigation as approved by the TECT leader. F. The FLO shall continue to act as a long-term liaison with the family to ensure that close contact is maintained with the family. Moreover, the FLO will make sure that the family's needs are met for as long as they feel the need for support from the Department. G. If a criminal case should arise from the injury or death of the employee, the FLO shall: 1. Keep the family informed of all developments surrounding the case prior to release of the information to the media and the public. H. 2. Introduce the family to victim assistance personnel who work for the court. 3. Assist the family if they wish to be in attendance. The FLO shall ensure that all Department-issued equipment is returned. I. The FLO shall also handle any problems such as harassing phone calls directed at the family that may have come as a result of the incident. Effective: May 31, 2000 Revised: December 11, 2019 Employee Catastrophic Injuries or Death SOP No. 22.02 Page 5 of 7 IX. CISM TEAM: A. A debriefing will be held for all affected Department employees as soon as feasible following the conclusion of the incident. Attendance may or may not be mandatory as determined by the chief of police or his/her designee. X. FAMILY SUPPORT PROCEDURES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: A. A file shall be established within the Chief’s Office, listing the surviving spouse and all surviving children. This file shall also contain information relevant to the death, (e.g., news clippings) and will be updated as required. B. The chief of police or his/her designee shall ensure that surviving family members are invited to Department social functions, (e.g., Memorial Day Services, awards ceremonies, etc.). C. If any award is to be given to the fallen employee's family posthumously, the same award should also be presented to the employee’s parents, if the parents are alive. D. Chief’s Office employees will ensure that the chief of police is notified in a timely manner so that: 1. A short note and/or flowers may be sent to the employee's spouse or family, on the anniversary date of the employee's death. 2. Appropriate cards may be sent to the employee’s spouse or family, on major holidays, graduations, etc. XI. EMPLOYEE SUPPORT: A. Similar assistance outlined for an employee's death, should also be provided in the case of a catastrophic injury suffered by an employee (e.g., notification, hospital liaison, chief's involvement, benefits assistance, etc.). XII. EMPLOYEE INFORMATION: A. The Employee Information Form shall be completed by newly hired employees. B. Annually, employees shall check their emergency contact information and notification information and update it, if necessary. C. The Department encourages employees to complete the Your Personal Financial Diary packet located on the C.O.P.S. website and share with family members. Effective: May 31, 2000 Revised: December 11, 2019 Employee Catastrophic Injuries or Death SOP No. 22.02 Page 6 of 7 XIII. A. REFERENCES: https://www.nationalcops.org/ Approved: Michele Miuccio Interim Chief of Police Effective: May 31, 2000 Revised: December 11, 2019 Date: Employee Catastrophic Injuries or Death SOP No. 22.02 Page 7 of 7