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PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT OF PEACE OFFICERS MODEL POLICY
MN STAT 626.8457
I. POLICY
It is the policy of the __________________________________________________ (law
enforcement agency) to investigate circumstances that suggest an officer has engaged in
unbecoming conduct, and impose disciplinary action when appropriate.
II. PROCEDURE
This policy applies to all officers of this agency engaged in official duties whether within or
outside of the territorial jurisdiction of this agency. Unless otherwise noted this policy also
applies to off duty conduct. Conduct not mentioned under a specific rule but that violates a
general principle is prohibited.
A. PRINCIPLE ONE
Peace officers shall conduct themselves, whether on or off duty, in accordance with the
Constitution of the United States, the Minnesota Constitution, and all applicable laws,
ordinances and rules enacted or established pursuant to legal authority.
1. Rationale: Peace officers conduct their duties pursuant to a grant of limited authority
from the community. Therefore, officers must understand the laws defining the
scope of their enforcement powers. Peace officers may only act in accordance with
the powers granted to them.
2. Rules
a) Peace officers shall not knowingly exceed their authority in the enforcement of
the law.
b) Peace officers shall not knowingly disobey the law or rules of criminal procedure
in such areas as interrogation, arrest, detention, searches, seizures, use of
informants, and preservation of evidence, except where permitted in the
performance of duty under proper authority.
c) Peace officers shall not knowingly restrict the freedom of individuals, whether by
arrest or detention, in violation of the Constitutions and laws of the United States
and the State of Minnesota.
d) Peace officers, whether on or off duty, shall not knowingly commit any criminal
offense under any laws of the United States or any state or local jurisdiction.
e) Peace officers will not, according to MN STAT 626.863, knowingly allow a person
who is not a peace officer to make a representation of being a peace officer or
perform any act, duty or responsibility reserved by law for a peace officer.
B. PRINCIPLE TWO
Peace officers shall refrain from any conduct in an official capacity that detracts from the
public’s faith in the integrity of the criminal justice system.
1. Rationale: Community cooperation with the police is a product of its trust that officers
will act honestly and with impartiality. The peace officer, as the public’s initial contact
with the criminal justice system, must act in a manner that instills such trust.
2. Rules
a) Peace officers shall carry out their duties with integrity, fairness and impartiality.
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b) Peace officers shall not knowingly make false accusations of any criminal,
ordinance, traffic or other law violation. This provision shall not prohibit the use
of deception during criminal investigations or interrogations as permitted under
law.
c) Peace officers shall truthfully, completely, and impartially report, testify and
present evidence, including exculpatory evidence, in all matters of an official
nature.
d) Peace officers shall take no action knowing it will violate the constitutional rights
of any person.
e) Peace officers must obey lawful orders but a peace officer must refuse to obey
any order the officer knows would require the officer to commit an illegal act. If in
doubt as to the clarity of an order the officer shall, if feasible, request the issuing
officer to clarify the order. An officer refusing to obey an order shall be required
to justify his or her actions.
f) Peace officers learning of conduct or observing conduct that is in violation of any
law or policy of this agency shall take necessary action and report the incident to
the officer’s immediate supervisor who shall forward the information to the CLEO.
If the officer’s immediate supervisor commits the misconduct the officer shall
report the incident to the immediate supervisor’s supervisor.
C. PRINCIPLE THREE
Peace officers shall perform their duties and apply the law impartially and without
prejudice or discrimination.
1. Rationale: Law enforcement effectiveness requires public trust and confidence.
Diverse communities must have faith in the fairness and impartiality of their police.
Peace officers must refrain from fostering disharmony in their communities based
upon diversity and perform their duties without regard to race, color, creed, religion,
national origin, gender, marital status, or status with regard to public assistance,
disability, sexual orientation or age.
2. Rules
a) Peace officers shall provide every person in our society with professional,
effective and efficient law enforcement services.
b) Peace officers shall not allow their law enforcement decisions to be influenced by
race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, marital status, or status with
regard to public assistance, disability, sexual orientation or age.
D. PRINCIPLE FOUR
Peace officers shall not, whether on or off duty, exhibit any conduct which discredits
themselves or their agency or otherwise impairs their ability or that of other officers or
the agency to provide law enforcement services to the community.
1. Rationale: A peace officer’s ability to perform his or her duties is dependent upon
the respect and confidence communities have for the officer and law enforcement
officers in general. Peace officers must conduct themselves in a manner consistent
with the integrity and trustworthiness expected of them by the public.
2. Rules
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a) Peace officers shall not consume alcoholic beverages or chemical substances
while on duty except as permitted in the performance of official duties, and under
no circumstances while in uniform, except as provided for in c).
b) Peace officers shall not consume alcoholic beverages to the extent the officer
would be rendered unfit for the officer’s next scheduled shift. A peace officer
shall not report for work with the odor of an alcoholic beverage on the officer’s
breath.
c) Peace officers shall not use narcotics, hallucinogens, or other controlled
substances except when legally prescribed. When medications are prescribed,
the officer shall inquire of the prescribing physician whether the medication will
impair the officer in the performance of the officer’s duties. The officer shall
immediately notify the officer’s supervisor if a prescribed medication is likely to
impair the officer’s performance during the officer’s next scheduled shift.
d) Peace officers, whether on or off duty, shall not engage in any conduct which the
officer knows, or should reasonably know, constitutes sexual harassment as
defined under Minnesota law, including but not limited to; making unwelcome
sexual advances, requesting sexual favors, engaging in sexually motivated
physical contact or other verbal or physical conduct or communication of a sexual
nature.
e) Peace officers shall not commit any acts which constitute sexual assault or
indecent exposure as defined under Minnesota law. Sexual assault does not
include a frisk or other search done in accordance with proper police procedures.
f) Peace officers shall not commit any acts which, as defined under Minnesota law,
constitute (1) domestic abuse, or (2) the violation of a court order restraining the
officer from committing an act of domestic abuse or harassment, having contact
with the petitioner, or excluding the peace officer from the petitioner’s home or
workplace.
g) Peace officers, in the course of performing their duties, shall not engage in any
sexual contact or conduct constituting lewd behavior including but not limited to,
showering or receiving a massage in the nude, exposing themselves, or making
physical contact with the nude or partially nude body of any person, except as
pursuant to a written policy of the agency.
h) Peace officers shall avoid regular personal associations with persons who are
known to engage in criminal activity where such associations will undermine the
public trust and confidence in the officer or agency. This rule does not prohibit
those associations that are necessary to the performance of official duties or
where such associations are unavoidable because of the officer’s personal or
family relationships.
E. PRINCIPLE FIVE
Peace officers shall treat all members of the public courteously and with respect.
1. Rationale: Peace officers are the most visible form of local government. Therefore,
peace officers must make a positive impression when interacting with the public and
each other.
2. Rules
a) Peace officers shall exercise reasonable courtesy in their dealings with the
public, other officers, superiors and subordinates.
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b) No peace officer shall ridicule, mock, deride, taunt, belittle, willfully embarrass,
humiliate, or shame any person to do anything reasonably calculated to incite a
person to violence.
c) Peace officers shall promptly advise any inquiring citizen of the agency’s
complaint procedure and shall follow the established agency policy for
processing complaints.
F. PRINCIPLE SIX
Peace officers shall not compromise their integrity nor that of their agency or profession
by accepting, giving or soliciting any gratuity which could be reasonably interpreted as
capable of influencing their official acts or judgments or by using their status as a peace
officer for personal, commercial or political gain.
1. Rationale: For a community to have faith in its peace officers, officers must avoid
conduct that does or could cast doubt upon the impartiality of the individual officer or
the agency.
2. Rules
a) Peace officers shall not use their official position, identification cards or badges
for: (1) personal or financial gain for themselves or another person; (2) obtaining
privileges not otherwise available to them except in the performance of duty; and
(3) avoiding consequences of unlawful or prohibited actions.
b) Peace officers shall not lend to another person their identification cards or
badges or permit these items to be photographed or reproduced without approval
of the chief law enforcement officer.
c) Peace officers shall refuse favors or gratuities which could reasonably be
interpreted as capable of influencing official acts or judgments.
d) Unless required for the performance of official duties, peace officers shall not,
while on duty, be present at establishments that have the primary purpose of
providing sexually oriented adult entertainment. This rule does not prohibit
officers from conducting walk-throughs of such establishments as part of their
regularly assigned duties.
e) Peace officers shall:
not authorize the use of their names, photographs or titles in a manner that
identifies the officer as an employee of this agency in connection with
advertisements for any product, commodity or commercial enterprise;
maintain a neutral position with regard to the merits of any labor dispute,
political protest, or other public demonstration while acting in an official
capacity;
not make endorsements of political candidates while on duty or while
wearing the agency’s official uniform.
This section does not prohibit officers from expressing their views on existing, proposed
or pending criminal justice legislation in their official capacity.
G. PRINCIPLE SEVEN
Peace officers shall not compromise their integrity, nor that of their agency or profession,
by taking or attempting to influence actions when a conflict of interest exists.
1. Rationale: For the public to maintain its faith in the integrity and impartiality of peace
officers and their agencies officers must avoid taking or influencing official actions
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where those actions would or could conflict with the officer’s appropriate
responsibilities.
2. Rules
a) Unless required by law or policy a peace officer shall refrain from becoming
involved in official matters or influencing actions of other peace officers in official
matters impacting the officer’s immediate family, relatives, or persons with whom
the officer has or has had a significant personal relationship.
b) Unless required by law or policy a peace officer shall refrain from acting or
influencing official actions of other peace officers in official matters impacting
persons with whom the officer has or has had a business or employment
relationship.
c) A peace officer shall not use the authority of their position as a peace officer or
information available to them due to their status as a peace officer for any
purpose of personal gain including but not limited to initiating or furthering
personal and/or intimate interactions of any kind with persons with whom the
officer has had contact while on duty.
d) A peace officer shall not engage in any off-duty employment if the position
compromises or would reasonably tend to compromise the officer’s ability to
impartially perform the officer’s official duties.
H. PRINCIPLE EIGHT
Peace officers shall observe the confidentiality of information available to them due to
their status as peace officers.
1. Rationale: Peace officers are entrusted with vast amounts of private and personal
information or access thereto. Peace officers must maintain the confidentiality of
such information to protect the privacy of the subjects of that information and to
maintain public faith in the officer’s and agency’s commitment to preserving such
confidences.
2. Rules
a) Peace officers shall not knowingly violate any legal restriction for the release or
dissemination of information.
b) Peace officers shall not, except in the course of official duties or as required by
law, publicly disclose information likely to endanger or embarrass victims,
witnesses or complainants.
c) Peace officers shall not divulge the identity of persons giving confidential
information except as required by law or agency policy.
I. APPLICATION
Any disciplinary actions arising from violations of this policy shall be investigated in
accordance with MN STAT 626.89, Peace Officer Discipline Procedures Act and the law
enforcement agency’s policy on Allegations of Misconduct as required by MN RULES
6700.2000 to 6700.2600.
PB Rev 01/2011