WWW.LSPDONLINE.NET Los Santos Police Department Press Release Wednesday, March 8th, 2023 "TO PROTECT AND TO SERVE" |
LSPD ADDRESSES WEAZEL NEWS SPECIAL INVESTIGATION
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On March 7th, 2023, a special investigation, titled "The Cost of Justice: Overzealous Investigation of Leaks vs. Lack of Accountability for Misconduct", was published by the Weazel Entertainment News Network regarding an officer of the Los Santos Police Department submitting a formal complaint with the Los Santos County Sheriff's Department with regard to a deputy-involved shooting, the subsequent internal investigation and its conclusion, the leaking of documents, and the investigation into and dismissal of the officer responsible for the sharing of these documents.
The Los Santos Police Department wishes to release a statement addressing several of the concerns raised throughout the publication with regard to its involvement in the incidents that have occurred and the dismissal of one of its employees.
Firstly, the Los Santos Police Department will not release any comment specifically on the reported incident involving a Captain of the Sheriff's Department and a civilian or the subsequent investigation and the surrounding processes, as it was not involved with any investigative process into the incident that had occurred. The Department exclusively participated in the internal investigation within the Department itself concerning the Sheriff's Department documents shared by one of its officers.
The Los Santos Police Department was involved in the mentioned raid on the apartment of the investigative journalist spearheading the special investigation. An element of the LSPD Metropolitan Division's D Platoon, otherwise referred to as "LSPD SWAT", was deployed to assist with the entry into the apartment. Prior to its deployment, however, the Los Santos Police Department was in contact with the San Andreas State Government and had indicated that its tactical teams would not be available or willing to assist the state government with these raids and that they should seek assistance elsewhere. Only when the Governor indicated that no other tactical teams were available and reiterated the urgency behind the execution of the warrant, the Los Santos Police Department allowed one of its tactical teams to assist with the entry into the aforementioned apartment.
The Los Santos Police Department believes and holds in high regard accountability and transparency, and admits fault in the wrongful search of the three vehicles belonging to the journalist. Communications had transpired between the Los Santos Police Department and the Governor concerning these vehicles, however, a miscommunication had occurred resulting in the authorized albeit wrongful search of the three vehicles. Officers present were not shown the search warrant and were not privy to what had been documented, which only furthered the miscommunication as the information could not be corrected by any superior officer. The officer responsible for conducting the search, given the circumstances surrounding its authorization, will not be personally held accountable or liable for disciplinary action within the Department, however, the Los Santos Police Department recognizes the error in what had occurred and will strive to implement further strict policies ensuring that warrants and the information therein are disclosed to its officers when assisting with the execution of any search warrant, to ensure that this does not occur moving forward.
The Los Santos Police Department cannot confirm or deny whether any conclusive proof was discovered by the San Andreas State Government during the course of this investigation. A dismissal of a Los Santos Police Officer occurred, a dismissal executed by the Board of Governors that would have been disputed by the Chief of Staff on behalf of the Office of the Chief of Police, however, the officer in question then disclosed that [he] shared the documents with the media, after which the decision had been made to uphold the termination of employment.
The Los Santos Police Department does not in any way, shape, or form wish or encourage suppression or censorship of those who determine that wrongdoing needs to be exposed, however, employees of the Department agree in no uncertain terms in the signing of their employment contract that they understand and agree to keep confidential any and all information they obtain through their employment with the Los Santos Police Department that would otherwise be unobtainable or any information that could be considered proprietary to the Department, and that the sharing of any of this information, either directly or indirectly, results in internal disciplinary action, in this case, dismissal. In this, the Los Santos Police Department stands with the Los Santos County Sheriff's Department in their statement that the disclosure of the specific details of their Use of Force Policy may have detrimental results on employee safety. The Use of Force Policy shared with the officer in question was disclosed due to his profession as a law enforcement officer and employment to the Police Department with access to similar documentation. The Department, as is its stance on internal documents and policies, does not condone the sharing of internal and confidential documents of other Departments by one of its employees.
The Los Santos Police Department further wishes to disclose that, on the final page of the published investigation, it was stated that the shooting of an unarmed civilian by a Police Captain occurred, which is incorrect information. No Captain of the Los Santos Police Department was involved in the deputy-involved shooting on which the special investigation is based, as is further substantiated in earlier statements included in the publication documenting the presence of two officers, one of which was still in training at the time of the incident.
It is the Department's hope that in its admittance of fault with regard to the vehicle searches, the policies that will be further developed and implemented to prevent such instances from occurring in the future, and the information released in the provided statement, the public can continue upholding their faith in the Los Santos Police Officers and all that they do for the City of Los Santos.
CONTACT INFORMATION
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Written By:
Assistant Chief Elena Blake
[email protected]
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For Information, Contact:
Media Relations Division Public Inquiries
Los Santos Police Department
Sinner Street 69, Mission Row
Los Santos, SA, 90013
