DA’s Office to respond to all police shootings, fatal or not

By Conor Shine

Monday, June 10, 2013 | 12:11 p.m.

The District Attorney’s Office is extending its policy of responding to the scene of officer-involved shootings to include shootings where somebody is injured but not killed.

The office has sent a representative to the scene of every fatal officer-involved shooting since Steve Wolfson was appointed district attorney in January 2012.

The change was announced Monday, less than a week after Metro Police officers shot at but missed an unarmed man who was holding a “dark object” assumed to be a firearm that was actually a cell phone.

“We owe it to the public to review all of the incidents in which our officers use deadly force, regardless of the extent of the injuries caused,” Wolfson said in a statement. “Police officers have a very challenging job and are often called upon to make split-second life or death decisions. Hopefully these reviews will give the public more confidence in our law enforcement and justice system.”

The District Attorney’s Office is responsible for reviewing officer-involved shootings and deciding whether to file criminal charges against the officer.

In incidents where no criminal charges are expected, the office produces a Use of Force Report that provides a summary and legal analysis of the incident, which is then posted online.

In the case of a fatal officer-involved shooting, details of the incident are also provided during a Police Fatality Public Fact-Finding Review in which a representative from the District Attorney’s Office can call and question witnesses during a public hearing.