How to Make a Law Enforcement Complaint

Did you know you can make a complaint against law enforcement? Filing a complaint is one way to ensure that departments are aware of a police officer’s misconduct that could possibly lead to corrective action. Under California Penal Code Section 832.5, each law enforcement agency is required to establish a procedure to receive and investigate civilian complaints.

When you make a complaint with the police or sheriff’s department concerning an officer’s conduct, it will trigger an internal investigation. Due to the nature of a police officer’s job their conduct is not always observed by their superiors. Members of the public must provide this feedback. The easiest way to do this is by following the departments complaint procedure. While filing an internal complaint can put the department and their superiors on notice of the officer’s behavior, the investigation that occurs is totally internal. It is not uncommon for the results of the investigations to be unsubstantiated or unfounded. If you have filed a complaint and are not satisfied with the results or response of your complaint, most departments offer an escalation resource. Additionally, you can seek to file a civil suit against the offending police officer and department.

Greg Peacock Law represents individuals in civil suits against police departments. When you file a civil suit, the investigation is no longer internal and can result in a more satisfactory outcome. If you would like guidance on what next steps you should take regarding your situation, contact us for your free consultation by filling out the form on our Contact Page.

We have included the links below to various California Law Enforcement Departments that provide each department’s procedures on how to make a complaint.