Temporary suspension of Officer Uri Tamez

RECEIVED
CITY OF AUSTIN
CIVIL SERVICE
OF
DEPARTMENT
OFFICE
6-17-2020
4:16 p.m.
FOUNDED
1839
MEMORANDUM
Austin Police Department
Office of the Chief of Police
TO:
Joya Hayes, Director of Civil Service
FROM:
Brian Manley, Chief of Police
DATE:
June 16, 2020
SUBJECT:
Temporary Suspension of Police Officer Uri Tamez #7451
Internal Affairs Control Numbers 2020-0045
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 Uri Tamez #7451 from duty as a City of Austin, Texas police
officer for a period of four (4) days. The temporary suspension is effective beginning on
June 17, 2020 and continuing through June 20, 2020.
I took this action because Officer Tamez 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 Officer Tamez in violation of Rule 10:
On December 23, 2019, Officers Uri Tamez and Jonathan La Borde worked a Downtown
Austin Alliance (DAA) overtime assignment in a marked patrol vehicle. During the DAA
assignment, Officer La Borde was involved in a Level IV response to resistance (R2R)
and realized his Body Worn Camera (BWC) was powered off during the R2R. He
informed his responding supervisor, that his BWC was not powered on.
Thereafter, Lieutenant James Nisula performed an audit of Officers Tamez' and Laborde's
activity, including their DMAV and BWC videos for December 23, 2019. The audit
revealed the officers did not log onto their vehicle's Mobile Data Computer (MDC) or sign
into the Digital Mobile Audio Video (DMAV) system at the beginning of their shift.
Moreover, they did not have DMAV and/or BWC videos for all of their calls for service.
The audit history for the BWC assigned to Officer Tamez showed that he only recorded
four videos on December 23, 2019. Three of the videos were related to APD incident 19-
3570547(Officer La Borde's R2R), and one was for an unrelated non-event video. The
audit also showed his BWC was powered on at 06:37 am with only 47% battery power
and powered off at 12:11 pm with 4% battery power. It was not powered back on for the
remainder of the shift, which ended at 6:00 pm.
On May 27, 2020, Internal Affairs conducted an interview with Officer Tamez. During
the interview he admitted he did not conduct a pre-shift (10-41) check of his BWC, nor
did he activate his BWC when required by General Orders. Additionally, Officer Tamez
stated he powered off his BWC approximately six hours prior to the end of his shift and
did not activate his DMAV when required by General Orders. Officer Tamez admitted it
was his responsibility to ensure his BWC was fully charged at the beginning of his shift.
Moreover, he acknowledged he did not notify a supervisor about powering off his BWC.
By these actions, Officer Tamez 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 303.3: Body Worn Camera Systems:
Department Issued Body Worn Camera
303.3 Department Issued Body Worn Camera
BWC equipment is to be used primarily by uniformed personnel as authorized per
assignment by the Department and must be used unless otherwise authorized by a
Commander or above.
(b)
Employees equipped with a Department issued BWC system must
be trained in the operation of the equipment prior to its use. BWC
equipment will be used in accordance with Department training and
the BWC operations manual.
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(c)
Unless otherwise authorized by the Chief of Police or his/her
designee, BWC's will be worn consistent with the training and
manufacturer's recommendations, in regards to fields of view and
employee safety. Employees will adhere to the following
dimensions for placement of the BWC:
1.
From the center of the sternum, no more than four inches to
the right or left on the outermost layer of clothing such that the
camera has an unobstructed view.
2.
No higher than four inches below the top button of the uniform
shirt and no lower than six inches below the top button of the
uniform shirt.
3.
Exemptions to the placement of the BWC in accordance with
this order will be authorized by a Commander or above.
Examples for exemptions may include, but are not limited to,
SWAT, OCD, Executive Protection, and Mounted Patrol.
(d)
Employees shall ensure that their BWC equipment has adequate
battery charge and storage space to complete their regular tour of
duty.
1.
Employees assigned to the units below are required to power
on the device at the beginning of their tour of duty and not
power the device off until the end of that tour of duty.
(a) Patrol,
(b) DTAC Patrol,
(c) George District Representatives,
(d) Mounted Patrol,
(e) Court Services,
(f)
Park Patrol,
(g) Lake Patrol,
(h) Commercial Vehicles,
(i) DWI,
(j) Motors,
(k) Metro Tac,
(1) Patrol K9,
(m) Gangs,
(n) Criminal Interdiction.
2.
Employees not assigned to the units above are not considered
to be "first responders" and are therefore not required to power
on their assigned Body Worn Camera at the beginning of their
tour of duty. However, if at any time their duties and
responsibilities require any type of field work where they
could be called upon to take enforcement action, their device
will be properly attached and powered on for the entirety of
the time they are in that role.
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3.
Employees not engaged in a law enforcement action shall
power the device off or remove it from their body when using
a restroom, locker room, changing room, or any other location
where the employee has an expectation of privacy.
Immediately upon exiting such a facility or room, the
employee shall ensure the BWC equipment is powered back
on and appropriately placed according to this order.
(e)
Employees shall test the BWC equipment at the commencement of
their tour of duty and shall categorize the video as '10-41'.
(f)
The BWC equipment test shall consist of employees recording the
following:
1.
Employee name;
2.
Employee number; and
3.
The current date and time.
(g)
Employees shall review the recording to verify the BWC
microphone is operational, and the date and time is accurate.
Austin Police Department Policy 303.3.1: Body Worn Camera Systems: When
Department Issued BWC System Use is Required
303.3.1 When Department Issued BWC System Use is Required
This section is not intended to describe every possible situation where the system
may be used. In some circumstances it may not be possible to capture images of an
incident due to conditions or location of the camera, however the audio portion can
be valuable evidence and is subject to the same activation requirements. The BWC
should only be activated for law enforcement purposes.
(a)
All units responding to a scene shall activate their department issued
BWC equipment when they:
1.
Arrive on-scene to any call for service;
2.
Have detained or arrested a person;
3.
Are attempting to detain or arrest a person;
4.
By the nature of the call for service, are likely to detain or
arrest a person; or
5.
Any consensual contact in which the employee or a citizen
believes activation of the BWC would be in the best interest of
the community.
(b)
Examples of when the department issued BWC system must be
activated include, but are not limited to:
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1.
Traffic stops;
2.
Foot pursuits, until completion of enforcement action;
3.
DWI investigations including field sobriety tests;
4.
Warrant service;
5.
Investigatory stops; or
6.
Any contact that becomes adversarial in an incident that would
not otherwise require recording.
7.
While interviewing an employee during a Response to
Resistance review.
(c)
Employees that are issued a BWC shall utilize the BWC when
engaging in Off-Duty LERE Overtime.
(d)
In addition to the required situations, employees may activate the
system anytime they believe its use would be appropriate and/or
valuable to document an incident.
(e)
There may be instances in which an employee is required to take
immediate action in response to an event which may not allow time
to activate their BWC. In those situations, it may be impractical or
unreasonable for employees to activate their BWC system before
taking police action. It is expected that once the immediacy of the
situation is over, employees will activate their BWC system to
record the remainder of the incident. Employees shall articulate the
reasoning for the delayed activation of their BWC in an offense
report, supplement, or other form of Department approved
documentation.
Austin Police Department Policy 304.3.2: Digital Mobile Audio Video
Recording: When DMAV Use is Required
304.3.2 When DMAV Use is Required
This order is not intended to describe every possible situation where the system
may be used. In some circumstances it is not possible to capture images of the
incident due to conditions or location of the camera however the audio portion can
be valuable evidence and is subject to the same activation requirements.
(a)
All units responding to a scene shall activate their DMAV
equipment when they:
1.
Arrive on-scene to any call for service; or
2.
Are attempting to detain or arrest a person; or
3.
Have detained or arrested a person; or
4.
By nature of the incident, are likely to detain or arrest a person.
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(b)
Examples of when the DMAV system must be activated include, but
are not limited to:
1.
Traffic stops.
2.
Pursuits, until completion of enforcement action.
3.
DWI investigations including field sobriety tests.
4.
Warrant service.
5.
Investigatory stops when the subject is on foot or in a vehicle.
6.
Any contact that becomes adversarial in an incident that would
not otherwise require recording. In those situations, it may be
impractical or unreasonable for officers to activate their
DMAV system before taking police action. It is expected that
once the immediacy of the situation is over, officers will
activate their DMAV system to record the remainder of the
incident.
7.
While interviewing an employee during a Response to
Resistance review when the BWC recording system is
unavailable.
(c)
In addition to the required situations, employees may activate the
system anytime they believe its use would be appropriate and/or
valuable to document an incident.
By copy of this memo, Officer Tamez 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, Officer Tamez 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 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.
PAR 38to for
6/16/2020
BRIAN MANLEY, Chief of Police
Date
Manlay
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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.
L # 7451
6/16/2020
Police Officer Uri Tamez #7451
Date
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