Columbia Definitions and rule of construction ordinance (§ 21-45)

The following definitions and rules of construction apply to this article:

Board, when not otherwise specified, means the citizens police review board.

Complainant means a person who files a complaint with the police department or with the city clerk against a police officer.

Complaint means a written statement alleging misconduct of a police officer involving interaction with the public.

Misconduct means any violation of federal law, state law, city ordinance, city regulation or police department policy, guideline, directive, rule, regulation or order in effect at the time of the incident which involves excessive use of force, abuse of authority, discourtesy, or use of offensive language, including, but not limited to, slurs relating to race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation and disability.

Notice shall be considered given when it is hand delivered or five (5) business days after it is mailed.

Police officer and officer means a commissioned law enforcement officer, other than the chief of police, who has the power of arrest and who serves in the Columbia Police Department.

Written statement means a narrative, reduced to writing, outlining an allegation of misconduct that includes the personal identifying information of the individual filing the complaint. Such writings include, but are not limited to, letters, emails, complaint forms, digital submissions, internal memorandums or oral statement that has been reduced to writing by an individual who has received the information from the complainant or the complainant's representative.