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HomeMy WebLinkAbout0708 - USE AND CARE OF DEPARTMENT VEHICLESRed Wing Police Department Policy SUBJECT: POLICY NUMBER 708 USE AND CARE OF DEPARTMENT VEHICLES EFFECTIVE DATE February 1, 2016 REFERENCE(S): APPROVED BY: y ENACTED DATE: CHIEF ROGER D. February 2, 2004 POHLMAN PURPOSE: To establish policy for the use and care of City of Red Wing or Red Wing Police Department vehicles consistent with City of Red Wing Personnel Rules and Regulations. To establish guidelines for the reporting of needed repairs and/or replacement of lost or damaged equipment. POLICY: Pursuant to Section 26, City of Red Wing Personnel Rules and Regulations, the following shall be the policy of the Red Wing Police Department: "City facilities and equipment are to be used only for official business unless authorized as a condition of the employee's employment. The Chief of Police or their designate shall prescribe all acceptable uses of all Red Wing Police Department vehicles and equipment. The City Administrator shall prescribe acceptable uses of all other City equipment and facilities. Any use by employees for their personal benefit or profit will not be acceptable." 1. GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF ALL EMPLOYEES A. All employees are responsible for ensuring that the Red Wing Police Department vehicles they operate are kept in a clean, fueled, equipped, and duty -ready condition at all times. B. Police Department employees will be required on a daily basis to organize the trunks, clean the interior and all glass, assess the exterior for needed washing, and equip with adequate forms for department vehicles they are operating. 2. VEHICLE ASSIGNMENTS A. Certain employees in the Police Department shall be assigned responsibility for an individual vehicle. The assigned officer shall drive that particular vehicle when on duty unless that vehicle is out of service for repairs or maintenance. B. If there are two employees on duty at the same time who are assigned to a particular vehicle, the senior officer assigned shall take the vehicle. Page 1 of 4 USE AND CARE OF DEPARTMENT VEHICLES -POLICY #708 C. Assigned employees shall be responsible for scheduling periodic maintenance such as oil changes at the proper intervals (3,000 miles). 3. DAILY DUTIES A. Each officer should see that the vehicle they are operating is fully fueled at or very near the end of their tour of duty. The oil level and tire pressure should be checked periodically. 1. It is recognized that calls for service may occasionally interfere with timely fueling of the vehicle. This will be the exception, rather than the general rule. B. Each officer shall check the vehicle for adequate report forms, parking ticket and warning tag books, and any other expendable type equipment. Employees finding any to be in short supply shall obtain replacements. 4. VEHICLE DAMAGE REPORTING A. Employees incurring damage to any Red Wing Police Department vehicle they are operating shall report that damage immediately to the Sergeant, or if no Sergeant is on duty, the senior officer on duty. B. Employees shall also complete a detailed written report of the incident that resulted in the damage and submit it, by the end of their shift, to the Sergeant on duty, or if there is no Sergeant on duty, the senior officer on duty. C. Employees who are found to have operated the vehicle negligently or carelessly resulting in damages, or who are found to have failed to report damages occurring while they were operating the vehicle, may face disciplinary action. D. Any accident involving any Red Wing Police Department vehicle, no matter how minor, shall require that an accident report be completed. 5. OPERATION OF VEHICLES A. At all times and under all circumstances, departmental vehicles shall be operated with due regard for the rights and safety of the occupants of the departmental vehicle and all others who share the streets and highways with the departmental vehicle. B. Departmental vehicles can be left running while unattended, only under the following circumstances and officers are asked to use the police department's garage in cases where the officer will be at the office for extended periods of time. Page 2 of 4 USE AND CARE OF DEPARTMENT VEHICLES -POLICY #708 1. During traffic stops. 2. At accident scenes. 3. At emergency scenes such as fires, etc. 4. During times when the effects of weather will hamper the officer's ability to respond to an emergency reasonably. (Fogged or frosted up windows) C. The practice of operating police vehicles without lights has been in use for many years to investigate criminal violations or suspected criminal violations of state laws, rules, or orders or local laws, ordinances, or regulations. On October 18, 1990, The Board of Peace Employees Standards and Training (POST) approved and adopted the following standards as required by 1990 Minnesota Laws, Chapter 555, Section 9. Therefore, from the listed effective date of this policy, these standards shall also be the policy of the Red Wing Police Department. D Definitions: "OPERATING WITHOUT LIGHTS." Operating without lights means a peace officer operating a vehicle or watercraft without lights as an exception to Minnesota Statutes 84.87, 84.928, 169.48 to 169.65 and 8613.511. This definition does not include a parked vehicle. "AGENCY." Agency means a local or state law enforcement agency employing peace employees. "CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER." Chief law enforcement officer means the highest-ranking peace officer within an agency. "LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY." Law enforcement agency has the meaning given it in Minnesota Statute 626.84, subdivision 1 ( c). E. A peace officer may not operate without lights: 1. On interstate highways. 2. At speeds greater than what is reasonable and prudent under existing weather, road, and traffic conditions. 3. In situations where a peace officer is an active participant in pursuing a motor vehicle being operated in violation of Minnesota Statute 609.487. 4. Contrary to the elements listed in Minnesota Statute 169.541. Page 3 of 4 USE AND CARE OF DEPARTMENT VEHICLES -POLICY #708 5. Contrary to any written policies or procedures established by the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the agency, which employs the peace officer. F. Addendum: 1. The particular situations in which peace employees may find it necessary to operate law enforcement vehicles without activated head and taillights in the course of investigating suspected criminal activity are diverse and varied. 2. The operation of any motor vehicle or watercraft without lights for any other reason than dealing with law enforcement operations is prohibited. (It should be noted that, even though it is now statutorily permissible to operate vehicles without lights, an officer could still be held liable under civil law in the event an injury or death occurs during such operations.) Page 4 of 4 USE AND CARE OF DEPARTMENT VEHICLES -POLICY #708