Officer accountability to be discussed Saturday

Officer accountability is scheduled to be the topic for this month’s Coffee with the Chief get together 8 a.m. Saturday at the Maricopa Public Library.

Maricopa Police Department Sgt. Steve Judd will talk about how the police department’s internal disciplinary system operates.

“It’s an explanation of basically how we watch ourselves,” said Officer Ricky Alvarado, MPD public information officer.

Specific topics to be explained include the process officers go through when either an internal or external complaint is lodged against one of them.

The way internal affairs investigations are conducted also will be discussed.

Specific situations, such as any incident involving an officer shooting a weapon, will trigger an automatic investigation as part of the department’s standard operating procedure and does not necessarily indicate any wrongdoing on the part of the officer.