How Are Complaints Investigated?

The Austin Police Department (APD) investigates complaints. There are two different types of complaints, internal and external. Internal complaints are complaints that APD initiates; external complaints are complaints that APD receives from the Office of Police Oversight (OPO).

OPO conducts oversight of investigations into both internal and external complaints. Specifically, the OPO:

Reviews information gathered by APD.
Attends interviews conducted by APD.
Provides progress updates to the individual who submitted the complaint.
Recommends potential policy violation(s) and classification.
Communicate the outcome of an investigation once APD has made a final determination.

APD is responsible for determining the classification of each investigation:

Class A complaints are the most serious allegations that APD investigates. These may result in discipline up to and including indefinite suspension.

Class B complaints are less serious allegations that APD investigates. These may result in discipline up to and including a 15-day suspension.

Class C complaints are allegations that do not qualify as Class A or Class B. APD generally does not investigate these complaints. Whether or not a Class C complaint is investigated, it is addressed through internal APD processes.

Class D complaints are allegations in which APD has determined there is no policy violation.

APD is responsible for determining the result of an investigation and making a disciplinary decision, OPO does not make any disciplinary decisions. The outcome of an investigation that APD has conducted are listed below:

Sustained: The investigation reveals that the incident occurred and violated policy.
Exonerated: The investigation reveals that the incident occurred but did not violate policy.
Unfounded: The investigation reveals that the incident did not happen.
Inconclusive: There is not enough evidence to show whether the incident occurred.
Administratively Closed: There were no allegations, or there was no misconduct, the case was classified as a Class C or Class D complaint, or at the discretion of the Chief or their designee.