Under the D.C. civilian review statute, when the Office of Police Complaints (OPC) finds that a police officer has acted improperly, it forwards its findings and conclusions to the Chief, who can then impose whatever discipline she thinks appropriate—including none. The Chief reports her action to OPC, which publishes a yearly table of penalties imposed but doesn’t show the corresponding infractions, making it impossible for citizens to evaluate whether the penalties are justly calibrated to the infractions committed by the police.
In April 2009 we sent a demand letter to OPC, showing that other police complaint agencies report such data and stating that we would obtain them in FOIA litigation if the Office did not release them voluntarily. In response, OPC agreed that beginning with the 2009 report, specific sustained complaints and associated MPD discipline will be reported together.
