231 – Internal Investigations
I. Purpose
This policy establishes guidelines for internal investigations of Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) employees in certain circumstances including when allegations of misconduct have been made against them.
II. Definitions
Administrative Disciplinary Committee (ADC): A committee consisting of the bureau commanders or designees appointed by the Sheriff to review internal investigations and make disciplinary recommendations.
Administrative Investigation: An investigation to determine whether department policy has been violated.
Allegation of Misconduct: A written complaint of misconduct signed by the person making the complaint.
Bureau-Level Investigation: An internal investigation assigned to an investigator within an HCSO bureau other than IAD. A supervisor who becomes aware of a possible violation of HCSO policy that does not rise to the level of misconduct shall notify their chain of command in writing without unnecessary delay. The bureau commander shall confer with the IAD commander and choose one of the following courses of action:
• Approve a bureau-level investigation into the possible violation of department policy
• Refer the possible violation of department policy to the subject employee’s assigned bureau commander for continued investigation
• Request that IAD initiate an investigation into the possible violation of department policy
Complete Investigation: For purposes of this policy, an internal investigation is considered complete when it is ready for submission to the ADC.
Criminal Investigation: An investigation to determine whether any criminal laws have been violated.
Internal Affairs Division (IAD): The division within HCSO responsible for conducting internal investigations. Though IAD may, in coordination with a bureau commander, assign certain investigations to bureau personnel, IAD personnel shall handle all investigations involving any of the following:
• Allegations of misconduct
• Deputy-involved shootings
• In-custody deaths
• Possible violations of department policy that involve multiple personnel who are assigned to different bureaus
Internal Investigation: A general term for all investigations launched by HCSO into the actions of HCSO employees, including both administrative investigations and criminal investigations. This term also encompasses investigations handled by IAD and those handled within a bureau.
Every internal investigation may result in corrective or disciplinary actions in accordance with Policy 301 — Corrective Actions and Disciplinary Procedures.
License Holder: For purposes of this policy, a license holder is any person holding a license issued by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) that has their license commissioned by HCSO.
Misconduct: Violations of federal or state laws or local ordinances and alleged conduct including: use of excessive force, untruthfulness, unlawful search, unlawful arrest, civil rights violations, racially motivated police actions, discrimination, sexual harassment, violations of court orders, or any conduct that seriously degrades the integrity or good order of HCSO. For purposes of this policy, allegations of untruthfulness shall include false, untrue, or misleading statements, either by overt means or by omission. Misconduct does not include minor rule violations of a less serious nature.
Personnel Early Warning System (PEWS): A system for tracking and reviewing incidents of risk to the public, agency, and employees used to identify and assess employee performance and to provide intervention when appropriate, in accordance with Policy 233 — Personnel Early Warning System (PEWS).
Subject Employee: The employee whose actions are at the center of an internal investigation.
Summary Report: A report providing a description of each allegation of misconduct, the investigative findings related to each allegation — including whether each allegation was sustained or not sustained — and the final disposition of each allegation.
III. Policy
Swift and comprehensive internal investigations hold HCSO employees accountable to Harris County residents as professional and responsible public servants, protect HCSO employees from false allegations, and provide an effective means of ensuring that internal policies are followed and internal discipline is administered.
IV. Procedure
A. General Procedures
- When a complaint is received, it shall be formally compiled within a case file. This case file shall contain the sworn statement of the complainant and any supporting documents relating to the complaint (incident reports, supplement reports, supporting statements, photographs, etc.).
- IAD shall generate and assign a unique case number to each complaint. That case number shall be included on all IAD documents related to the internal investigation of said complaint, including the case file.
- All internal investigations shall use specific forms designated for internal investigations and made available on the HCSO Intranet.
- All internal investigations shall be completed within 180 days, absent other applicable laws, agreements, or policies.
- Complainant Notifications
Upon receipt of a complaint against an HCSO employee, IAD shall send the complainant a letter of acknowledgement.
a. Included in the letter of acknowledgement will be the name and contact information for the IAD investigator assigned to investigate the complaint or the name and contact information for the bureau commander if the complaint is to be investigated at the bureau level.
b. If the related internal investigation is not complete within 90 days, the IAD investigator or bureau supervisor conducting the investigation shall contact the complainant to inform them of the status of the investigation or to obtain additional information.
c. After the investigation is complete and the final case disposition is issued, the IAD investigator or bureau supervisor who conducted the investigation shall notify the complainant by mail of the outcome.
- Internal Notifications
a. Sheriff
i. The IAD commander or their designee shall immediately notify the Sheriff or their designee of all deputy-involved shootings, deaths in custody, and allegations of misconduct that include potentially criminal conduct.
ii. The IAD commander or their designee shall have direct access to the Sheriff or their designee to inform them of new incidents as described above and update them on the status of ongoing investigations related to those incidents.
b. Subject Employee
i. IAD shall provide written and verbal notification to every subject employee informing them that their actions are at the center of an internal investigation. The written notification shall include a written summary of the allegations against the subject employee along with the subject employee’s rights and responsibilities relative to the investigation.
ii. If, in the judgment of the IAD commander or their designee, notification to the subject employee would impede the internal investigation, notification to the subject employee shall be withheld pending completion of the investigation.
c. Employee Cooperation with Internal Investigations
During the course of internal investigations, the IAD investigator or bureau supervisor conducting the investigation may request that HCSO employees
i. Disclose of any item of the employee’s property, income, assets, source of income, debts, or personal or domestic expenditures (including those of any member of the employee’s family or household) if that information is necessary and material to the investigation — unless disclosure is prohibited by state or federal law;
ii. Provide photographs of the employee and a sworn statement; and
iii. Participate in a line-up, polygraph examination, and medical or laboratory examination at Harris County expense.
d. Failure to cooperate with any internal investigation may result in an employee’s immediate relief from duty and disciplinary action up to and including termination.
- Relief of Duty
If it is in the interest of HCSO and the residents of Harris County, an employee’s bureau commander — or, in their absence, the employee’s ranking supervisor — or the IAD commander or their designee may temporarily relieve an employee from duty with pay and benefits through the issuance of a written order relieving the employee of their duty.
A signed copy of that order shall be provided to the Sheriff.
Any employee so relieved of their duty shall surrender their badge and identification card to the relieving supervisor or IAD representative.
As soon as practicable, the relieving supervisor or IAD representative shall forward the surrendered items to the employee’s bureau commander.
- Records Retention
HCSO shall maintain records of all complaints against the agency and its employees as well as all internal investigations related to those complaints.
Upon completion of an internal investigation, the IAD investigator or bureau supervisor who conducted the investigation shall ensure that all original investigation and supporting documents are placed in the case file and that the case file is kept in a secured area accessible only to IAD personnel.
- Annual Reports
The IAD commander or their designee shall compile an annual statistical summary of complaints and internal investigations. These statistical summaries shall be available to all HCSO employees and the public.
The annual report for a given year shall be complete and forwarded to the Sheriff or their designee on or before the last day of February of the following year.
B. Procedures for Bureau-Level Investigations
- PEWS Review
Upon initiation of a bureau-level investigation, the appropriate bureau commander shall direct a review of the subject employee’s PEWS history to determine if PEWS activation is required under Policy 233 — Personnel Early Warning System (PEWS).
This review shall be documented as part of the internal investigation.
If PEWS activation is not necessary, the bureau commander shall document that fact in writing and place said documentation into the internal investigation case file.
- Polygraph Examinations
Supervisors conducting bureau-level investigations shall request and receive approval from the IAD commander before they are authorized to request that any employee participate in a polygraph examination.
- Regular Review of Pending Investigations
Every 30 days, each bureau commander or their designee shall review the pending bureau-level investigations under their command to ensure they are proceeding in a timely manner.
To facilitate this review, the IAD commander or their designee shall maintain a list of active bureau-level investigations. Upon the request of a bureau commander or their designee, the IAD commander or their designee shall provide a list of all bureau-level investigations known by IAD to be active under that command.
- Providing Records to IAD
Upon completion of a bureau-level investigation, the bureau commander shall forward the original investigation and all supporting documents to the IAD commander.
C. Procedures for IAD Investigations
- Investigation Assignment
After an internal investigation is assigned to IAD, the case file shall be forwarded to the assigned IAD investigator.
Upon review of existing information, the IAD commander or their designee may determine that a possible violation of department policy does not rise to the level of misconduct. The IAD commander or their designee may refer such an investigation to the appropriate bureau commander for the initiation of a bureau-level investigation.
- Investigations into Allegations of Misconduct
a. IAD shall investigate allegations of misconduct that may result in suspension, demotion, or termination at the time the agency becomes aware of the alleged misconduct.
b. IAD shall initiate an investigation into allegations of misconduct of a license holder at the time HCSO becomes aware of the allegations.
- HCSO as Complainant
HCSO may be listed as a complainant in certain internal investigations, including those where an employee may have engaged in conduct that is criminal in nature or when there is no actual person who brought forth the complaint or the complainant has a reasonable fear of retaliation, is incapacitated, or is otherwise unavailable.
In these cases, the Sheriff or their designee may order IAD to open an internal investigation into the alleged conduct.
- PEWS Review
Upon assignment to an internal investigation, the IAD investigator assigned shall conduct a review of the subject employee’s PEWS history to determine whether PEWS activation is necessary in accordance with Policy 233 — Personnel Early Warning System (PEWS).
This review shall be documented as part of the internal investigation.
a. If PEWS activation is necessary, the IAD investigator shall email the subject employee’s bureau commander — with delivery and read receipts requested — informing them of this fact. A copy of said email shall be included in the internal investigation case file.
b. If PEWS activation is not necessary, the IAD investigator shall document that fact in writing and place said documentation into the internal investigation case file.
- Regular Review of Pending Investigations
Every 30 days, IAD supervisors shall review the pending investigations under their command to ensure they are proceeding in a timely manner.
- Findings and Notifications to Subject Employee
Upon completion of the internal investigation, the IAD investigator who conducted the investigation will present the investigation to the Administrative Disciplinary Committee (ADC). The ADC will examine the facts of the case and determine the disposition, policy violations, and recommend discipline in accordance with Policy 301 — Corrective Actions and Disciplinary Procedures.
a. If the ADC determines disciplinary action will be taken against the subject employee, the employee’s bureau commander shall notify the subject employee of those findings.
b. If the ADC determines NO disciplinary action will be taken against the subject employee, an IAD representative shall notify the subject employee of those findings.
D. TCOLE Reporting and Notification
- Within 30 days of completing its investigation into alleged misconduct for which criminal charges are filed against a license holder, IAD shall report its investigation to TCOLE.
- In a timely manner — but not later than 30 days after a license holder’s separation from HCSO, if applicable — IAD shall complete its investigation into alleged misconduct and prepare and submit to TCOLE a summary report of its investigation.
- In accordance with Policy 234 — Personnel Files and sections 1701.4522 and 1701.4535 of the Texas Occupations Code, IAD shall include documentation of all completed investigations in the relevant license holders’ personnel files.
- Regarding appeals of any investigative findings, IAD shall notify TCOLE
a. when the result of an IAD investigation is appealed and
b. the disposition of any appeal within 30 days after receiving the decision on appeal.
- If a license holder separates from HCSO during an IAD investigation into their alleged misconduct, IAD shall complete its investigation and submit a summary report to TCOLE regardless of the findings.
Revision
This policy has been revised on the below listed dates:
April 21, 2009 April 23, 2013
December 19, 2011 October 21, 2015
January 5, 2012 December 07, 2017
January 15, 2013 June 17, 2021
February 28, 2022 (Technical Changes)
May 20, 2025