The Need to Protect Employees Who Contact or Who are Contacted by the Inspector General.

Los Angeles Administrative Code § 4.600

in effect

Sec. 4.600. The Need to Protect Employees Who Contact or Who are Contacted by the Inspector General. Under the City Charter the Inspector General, acting under the ultimate authority of the Board of Police Commissioners, oversees the police disciplinary process. Equipped with investigative authority, the Inspector General requires information from complainants and witnesses to operate effectively. Employees should be free to contact the Inspector General or respond to queries from the Inspector General without having to fear that their employment might be adversely affected. The fact of such contact should be regarded as entirely irrelevant event in that regard. Retaliation against employees by adverse employment action or harassment represents both unfair and unacceptable treatment of employees and undermines the effectiveness of oversight efforts of the Inspector General by threatening the continued flow of information. Similarly, protection of the identity of persons who file complaints with the Inspector General and of witnesses contacted by the Inspector General may be necessary to assure the Inspector General’s effectiveness. While the law may in some instances require disclosure of identity and in others the Board of Police Commissioners may determine that disclosure is required for law enforcement or other purposes, every effort should otherwise be undertaken to protect the confidentiality of complainants and witnesses. The Police Department has a policy forbidding retaliation for reporting misconduct, testifying or supporting a complainant, advising a complainant, assisting or participating in related investigations and proceedings, or taking other protected actions. The Department maintains that such policy fully applies to retaliation for contacts with the Inspector General, and this ordinance references the current policy and future revisions. SECTION HISTORY Article and Section Added by Ord. No. 172,466, Eff. 3-28-99.

Source: City of Los Angeles, Charter and Codes (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/los_angeles/latest/laac/0-0-0-13575Fetched: 10/24/2026