Temporary suspension of Officer Christopher Kohl

RECEIVED
CITY OF AUSTIN
CIVIL SERVICE OFFICE
JUNE 10, 8:00am
OF
MEMORANDUI
Austin Police Department
Office of the Chief of Police
TO:
Joya Hayes, Director of Civil Service
FROM:
Joseph Chacon, Chief of Police
DATE:
June 9, 2022
SUBJECT:
Temporary Suspension of Police Officer Christopher Kohl #8922
Internal Affairs Control Number 2022-0397
Pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 143 of the Texas Local Government Code, Section
143.052, and Rule 10, Rules of Procedure for the Firefighters', Police Officers' and
Emergency Medical Service Personnel's Civil Service Commission, I have temporarily
suspended Police Officer Christopher Kohl #8922 from duty as a City of Austin, Texas
police officer for a period of three (3) days. The temporary suspension is effective
beginning on June 13, 2022 and continuing through June 15, 2022.
I took this action because Ofc. Kohl violated Civil Service Commission Rule 10.03, which
sets forth the grounds for disciplinary suspensions of employees in the classified service,
and states:
No employee of the classified service of the City of Austin shall engage in,
or be involved in, any of the following acts or conduct, and the same shall
constitute cause for suspension of an employee from the classified service
of the City:
L.
Violation of any of the rules and regulations of the Fire
Department or Police Department or of special orders, as
applicable.
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The following are the specific acts committed by Ofc. Kohl in violation of Rule 10:
On or about February 25, 2022 Ofc. Christopher Kohl was assisting with a Metro Tactical
narcotics investigation. Several subjects were detained and frisked during the incident. Ofc.
Kohl detained a vehicle with two passengers, one male and one female, who were
suspected of being involved in narcotics transactions. While Ofc. Kohl searched the
vehicle, another officer had the female detained. The other officer was having difficulty
maintaining control of the female, who was pulling away from his grasp. Ofc. Kohl walked
over to assist the other officer to gain control of the female. Ofc. Kohl's efforts to assist
with detaining the female passenger fit the definition of a Response to Resistance (R2R).
Officer Kohl failed notify his supervisor of his R2R. Moreover, he failed to document his
R2R and his involvement in the investigation.
Ofc. Kohl's chain of command submitted the R2R for review to the Force Review Unit.
The Force Review Unit concluded, "After review and evaluation of the available and
apparently relevant evidence, the Force Review Unit concluded the Officers Responses
to Resistance comply with law and departmental policy. However there may be Policy
Issues associated with the reporting process. Further review by the Officers' Chains of
Command are necessary for Follow-Up.
During the follow-up investigation, Ofc. Kohl acknowledged that he failed to follow
APD General Orders when he: 1) failed to notify his supervisor of the R2R; 2) failed to
document the R2R; and 3) failed to document his involvement in the investigation.
By these actions, Officer Kohl violated Rule 10.03(L) of the Civil Service Rules by
violating the following rules and regulations of the Austin Police Department:
Austin Police Department Policy 211.4: Response to Resistance, Inquiry,
Reporting, and Review: Employee Responsibilities For All Force Level
Incidents
211.4 Employee Responsibilities For All Force Level Incidents
The following outlines the required responsibilities of involved employees,
employees that witness an incident, and employees designated to assist at the scene
of any response to resistance incident. If a juvenile is in custody related to the
incident, the juvenile should not be interviewed unless the juvenile has been
brought before a magistrate.
(a)
Involved employees shall notify their supervisor as soon as
practicable of any force incident or allegation of use of force.
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Austin Police Department Policy 402.1.1: Incident Reporting and
Documentation: General Guidelines
402.1.1 General Guidelines
An incident number will be assigned and all required fields completed during
documentation anytime an employee observes or receives any information
concerning the following, but not limited to:
(a)
Criminal or suspected criminal offenses, regardless of the victim's
level of cooperation.
(b)
Citizen complaints of non-criminal incidents requiring action by the
police.
(c)
Self-initiated stops
(d)
When Crime Scene personnel are assigned to an incident that was
first initiated or responded to by sworn personnel and no tele-serve
report has been made.
(e)
Crashes involving bicyclists will be will be investigated and
reported as defined in Section 346.3 Crash Investigation. Non-crash
events involving a bicyclist will be documented in a Versadex report
using title code 4311 under the following circumstances:
1.
The incident occurred on a public place
2.
At least one of the involved subjects sustained bodily injury;
and
3.
The incident occurred as a result of a potential criminal act,
violation of the Transportation Code, violation of a City
Ordinance, or the actions of another party.
(f)
Any other situation where documentation is required by law or
another section of departmental general orders.
If in doubt as to whether an incident should be documented, employees shall confer
with a supervisor. For the purpose of this order, Corporals may function as the
designated supervisor.
By copy of this memo, Ofc. Kohl is hereby advised of this temporary suspension and that
the suspension may be appealed to the Civil Service Commission by filing with the
Director of Civil Service, within ten (10) days after receipt of a copy of this memo, a proper
notice of appeal in accordance with Section 143.010 of the Texas Local Government Code.
By copy of this memo and as required by Section 143.057 of the Texas Local Government
Code, Ofc. Kohl is hereby advised that such section and the Agreement Between the City
of Austin and the Austin Police Association provide for an appeal to an independent third
party hearing examiner, in accordance with the provisions of such Agreement. If appeal is
made to a hearing examiner, all rights of appeal to a District Court are waived, except as
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provided by Subsection (j) of Section 143.057 of the Texas Local Government Code. That
section states that the State District Court may hear appeals of an award of a hearing
examiner only on the grounds that the arbitration panel was without jurisdiction or
exceeded its jurisdiction, or that the order was procured by fraud, collusion or other
unlawful means. In order to appeal to a hearing examiner, the original notice of appeal
submitted to the Director of Civil Service must state that appeal is made to a hearing
examiner.
In addition, if this disciplinary suspension is for three (3) days or less, Ofc. Kohl is advised
of the following provisions of Article 18, Section 1, of the Meet and Confer Agreement:
The parties agree that when an officer is suspended for 1, 2, or 3 days the officer may
choose one of two methods of dealing with the suspensions as listed below.
a)
Suspensions that may not be appealed. The officer may choose to use
vacation or holiday time to serve the suspension with no loss of paid
salary and no break in service for purposes of seniority, retirement,
promotion, or any other purpose. The officer must agree that there is no
right to appeal if this method of suspension is chosen.
b)
Suspensions that may be appealed. The officer may appeal the
suspension to arbitration or the Civil Service Commission. If the officer
chooses to appeal the suspension, the arbitrator or Civil Service
Commission's authority is limited to ruling on whether or not the charges
against the officer are true or not true. If the arbitrator or Civil Service
Commission finds the charges to be true, there is no authority to mitigate
the punishment. If the arbitrator or Civil Service Commission finds the
charges to be not true, the officer shall be fully reinstated with no loss of
pay or benefit.
Arbitration Costs on Appealable Suspensions
In the event that an officer appeals a 1, 2 or 3 day suspension to arbitration, it is agreed
that the party that loses the arbitration shall be responsible for all costs of the arbitrator,
including travel and lodging if necessary.
To facilitate such payment on the part of the officer he shall submit, at the time of appeal,
a signed payroll deduction agreement that if the arbitrator rules in favor of the City he
authorizes up to one hundred dollars ($100.00) per month to be deducted from his regular
pay until such time as what would usually be the City's portion of the arbitrator's costs
have been satisfied.
Code ME
6.9.2022
JOSEPH CHAÇON, Chief of Police
Date
For Chief Checo
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TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
I hereby acknowledge receipt of the above and foregoing memorandum of temporary
suspension and I have been advised that if I desire to appeal that I have ten (10) calendar
days from the date of this receipt to file written notice of appeal with the Director of Civil
Service in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 143 of the Texas Local Government
Code.
Whether
8922
06/09/2022
Police Officer Christopher Kohl #8922
Date
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