Officers Expect Changes in Misconduct Probes

California law enforcement agencies expect to change how they perform misconduct probes after the state Supreme Court ruled last week that officers do not have a right to see complaints against them before being questioned.

“We’ve already started moving to change things,� said Gordon Trask, attorney for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

A previous ruling by a lower court forced Los Angeles police to disclose to officers information, including witness statements and evidence, during internal investigations before the accused were questioned.

Trask plans to petition the Superior Court to remove an injunction on the Los Angeles Police Department so that it can go back to its old internal probe methods in light of the Supreme Court ruling in a similar case. The high court overturned an appellate decision in a Pasadena case, saying that officers involved in a misconduct investigation were not entitled to see complaints against them before being questioned.