Investigating and Analyzing Use of Force
Effective investigation and analysis of use of force is one of the most central components of law enforcemnt oversight. While taking appropriate investigative steps and critically assessing evidence are cornerstones of any investigation, they are especially vital in examining use of force. Given the dynamic and charged nature of force incidents, establishing a clear sequence of events and whether force was appropriate frequently relies strongly on the quality, thoroughness, and completeness of the investigation and the cogency and logical rigor of the analysis that follows.
This webinar focuses on the principles, techniques, and approaches most central to investigating and analyzing use of force. It examines these in both a police and corrections context.
Join us for this webinar on Tuesday, November 16, 2021 from 1-2:30 PM EST
Speakers:
Germain Difo
Germain Difo has spent over 15 years conducting and supervising staff misconduct investigations and audits in multiple New York City oversight agencies. Mr. Difo began his investigative career at the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board, where he directed and conducted investigations into complaints involving excessive force, abuse of authority, discourtesy, and offensive language made by the public against NYPD officers. As an investigator and supervisor, he interviewed hundreds of police officers and civilian witnesses, analyzed medical evidence, police records, and other documentary evidence, and trained investigators on search and seizure and use of force investigation techniques.
Mr. Difo later served as an investigator and supervisor for the New York City Department of Correction Investigation Division, the internal affairs unit and primary investigative body within the New York City Department of Correction. During that time, he supervised multiple teams of field investigators conducting investigations into alleged DOC staff misconduct and major incidents, including serious uses of force, sexual misconduct, and inmate deaths in and outside NYC jail facilities. This role involved dispatching investigators from a field command unit on Rikers Island to jail facilities to gather testimonial, documentary and physical evidence in the field, responding in person to major incidents to assume control of and supervise crime scenes, reviewing case reports and charging instruments to ensure that evidence assessments and analyses were sound, and testifying in administrative and criminal proceedings at the local and federal level.
After conducing and supervising investigations in the field, Mr. Difo took over the ID Training unit, where he designed ID’s new investigator and in-service training programs and trained investigators and correction captains on critical investigation and evidence evaluation techniques.
Mr. Difo currently serves as Executive Director of Risk Management and Audit at the New York Department of Buildings where he oversees fraud risk management, internal audit, and anticorruption initiatives. He heads DOB’s risk analysis and compliance unit, a team of analysts that performs in-depth subject matter research and statistical analysis to pro-actively identify internal control and compliance gaps.
Jennifer Jarett
Jennifer Jarett, the Director of Training at the Civilian Complaint Review Board, has been with the agency for fifteen years. Jennifer began her tenure as an investigator and spent several years supervising dozens of investigators. Jennifer currently leads the New Investigator Training course and creates and leads continued and advanced trainings for the investigative staff. She was a co-presenter of the “Evaluating Use of Force” lecture at the 2017 NACOLE Annual Conference, presented the “Investigating Search and Seizure” webinar in 2018, and presented the “How to Listen For, Recognize, and Break Down Assumptions and Conclusory Language” lecture at the virtual 2020 NACOLE Annual Conference and is currently a member of the NACOLE Training, Education, & Standards Committee. Jennifer is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.