DC POST cheat sheet

DC Code Title 22 defines substantive offenses; Title 23 governs criminal procedure (arrest, searches, pretrial detention, and appeals).

Felony/misdemeanor line: an offense punishable by more than one year of imprisonment is a felony; one year or less is a misdemeanor (DC Code § 22-1801).

Citizen's arrest (DC Code § 23-582): a private person may arrest for a felony committed in their presence, or for a misdemeanor involving a breach of the peace committed in their presence, and must deliver the arrestee to a law enforcement officer without unnecessary delay.

Warrantless arrest authority for officers: felony committed in the officer's presence or on reasonable grounds to believe the person committed a felony; misdemeanor committed in the officer's presence.

Presentment: an arrested person must be brought before a judicial officer without unnecessary delay; DC practice targets presentment within 48 hours, and Rule 5 timing is measured from arrest.

Pretrial detention in DC is governed by the Bail Reform Act of 1992 (DC Code § 23-1321 et seq.); the court may order preventive detention only on clear and convincing evidence of risk of flight or danger.

Preliminary hearing: for a person held in custody on a felony complaint, the hearing must occur within a short statutory window (generally within 5 days of presentment, excluding weekends/holidays absent waiver).

Speedy trial: DC's local speedy trial act (DC Code § 23-103) sets time limits running from the date of arrest or filing of charges, whichever is first; excludable periods apply.

Juvenile matters proceed under DC Code Title 16, Chapter 23; a juvenile 16 or older charged with certain enumerated violent felonies may be transferred to adult court.

Fourth Amendment: a search occurs when government action intrudes on a reasonable expectation of privacy; a seizure occurs when a reasonable person would not feel free to leave.

Warrant requirements: probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, particularity as to place and items. Knock-and-announce is required absent exigency.

Exigent circumstances recognized: hot pursuit, imminent destruction of evidence, risk of harm to officers or others, and medical emergency.

Terry stop: reasonable, articulable suspicion of criminal activity justifies a brief detention; a frisk requires reasonable suspicion the person is armed and dangerous.

Fifth Amendment: custodial interrogation requires Miranda warnings; custody is judged by whether a reasonable person would feel free to leave, and interrogation includes words or actions reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response.

Sixth Amendment: the right to counsel attaches at the initiation of adversary judicial proceedings (formal charge, indictment, arraignment) and applies to all critical stages.

First Amendment: speech on public sidewalks and parks is protected; reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions must be content-neutral, narrowly tailored, and leave open alternative channels.

Equal protection: race-based stops or enforcement patterns are analyzed under strict scrutiny; selective enforcement claims require evidence of discriminatory purpose and effect.

DC Human Rights Act (DC Code § 2-1401 et seq.) prohibits discrimination in places of public accommodation and by government, and is enforced through the DC Office of Human Rights.

Patrol deployment models: directed patrol targets specific times/places based on crime analysis; saturation patrol floods a small area; hot-spot patrol focuses on micro-places with elevated crime.

Community policing core elements: community partnerships, organizational transformation, and problem solving (the three-pillar model).

SARA problem-solving model: Scanning, Analysis, Response, Assessment - each response should be evaluated against measurable outcome data.

Directed patrol effectiveness is maximized when dosage (minutes of visible presence) is specified and tracked; undirected random patrol produces limited deterrence.

Officer-initiated activity (stops, field contacts, business checks) should be documented to support crime analysis and to establish reasonable suspicion/PC contemporaneously.

CompStat-style accountability meetings compare reported crime, arrests, and clearance rates by district and sector; data drives resource shifts.

Beat integrity: assigning officers to consistent geographic beats improves familiarity, community trust, and response time.

Foot and bike patrols increase face-to-face contact and are associated with improved perceptions of police legitimacy in commercial and residential corridors.

Community engagement documentation should record the nature of contact (meeting, business check, youth program) to support grant and program reporting.

Objective reasonableness standard (Graham v. Connor): force is judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on scene, considering the totality of circumstances and the severity of the crime, immediate threat, and active resistance.

Deadly force is force likely to cause death or serious bodily injury; it is justified only when the officer has probable cause to believe the subject poses an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to the officer or another person.

Tennessee v. Garner limits deadly force against fleeing suspects to those who pose a significant threat of death or serious physical injury.

Duty to intervene: an officer who witnesses another officer using excessive force must intervene when in a position to do so and report the conduct to a supervisor.

Duty to render aid: after force is used, officers must request medical assistance and provide aid within their training as soon as the scene is safe.

Proportionality and de-escalation: when feasible, officers should use time, distance, cover, and communication before escalating to higher force options.

Force reporting: any reportable use of force requires documentation of the facts, the force used, injuries, witnesses, and photographs; supervisory review is mandatory.

Less-lethal tools (OC spray, baton, CEW) require specific target areas and post-application monitoring; CEW deployment requires medical evaluation after probe removal in accordance with agency policy.

Positional asphyxia risk: after prone restraint, place the subject in a recovery position as soon as safe and monitor breathing continuously; hogtying is prohibited.

Chain of custody: document every transfer of physical evidence with date, time, person, and purpose; gaps create authentication problems at trial.

Biological evidence must be air-dried before packaging; wet packaging promotes degradation and mold; package each item separately to prevent cross-contamination.

Digital evidence: use write-blocking for forensic imaging, hash the image (MD5/SHA-256) to verify integrity, and document the tool version used.

Eyewitness identification: sequential, double-blind lineups reduce suggestibility; the administrator should not know which member is the suspect.

Interviewing: cognitive interview technique (context reinstatement, open-ended recall, varied retrieval) improves accurate recall without leading.

Search warrant affidavit: articulate facts establishing probable cause, the place to be searched, items to be seized, and the nexus between the items and the location.

Brady obligations require disclosure of exculpatory and impeachment evidence; Giglio covers impeachment material regarding government witnesses.

Chain-of-custody documentation for narcotics includes weight at seizure and at lab analysis; discrepancies must be explained in the case file.

Photograph and diagram the scene before moving evidence; document environmental conditions (lighting, weather, time) that affect evidence reliability.

DC traffic law is codified in Title 18 of the DC Municipal Regulations (DCMR); moving violations are enforced under the DMV code and the Traffic Adjudication Act.

Implied consent: DC law treats operation of a motor vehicle as consent to chemical testing in OWI cases; refusal can result in license sanctions.

OWI (Operating While Intoxicated) elements: operating or being in physical control of a vehicle while impaired by alcohol or drugs; DC's per se limit is 0.08 BAC for adults 21 and over.

Under 21: DC has a zero-tolerance standard; a BAC of 0.02 or higher supports an underage OWI charge.

Commercial drivers: 0.04 BAC threshold applies; CDL holders face disqualification for OWI convictions.

Field sobriety tests: standardized battery includes horizontal gaze nystagmus, walk-and-turn, and one-leg stand; document each clue observed.

Traffic stop authority: a stop requires reasonable suspicion of a traffic violation or equipment defect; the duration must be reasonable and tailored to the purpose of the stop.

Automated enforcement in DC: speed and red-light cameras issue civil notices of infraction; photo enforcement does not require an officer stop and is adjudicated by the DMV.

Accident investigation: document positions, skid marks, damage, injuries, and witness statements; photograph all vehicles and roadway conditions before clearing.

Reports must answer who, what, when, where, why, and how, and must be written in chronological order with first-person, past-tense narrative.

Use objective, factual language; avoid conclusory labels such as 'aggressive' or 'suspicious' without describing the underlying observed conduct.

Quote verbatim statements using quotation marks; paraphrase only when noted as such, and identify the speaker and the context.

Document all elements of the offense in the narrative so the report supports probable cause and charging decisions.

Include names, DOB, contact information, and identifiers for all parties, witnesses, and officers present.

Record time of call, time of arrival, time of arrest, and time of transport; these support timeline reconstruction and review.

Document any use of force in a separate use-of-force report and cross-reference the incident report number.

Supplemental reports should be filed for follow-up information, additional witnesses, or evidence recovered after the initial report.

Proofread before submission: verify names, dates, times, and case numbers; errors in reports undermine credibility and can be used to impeach.

DC Code § 5-101.01 et seq. governs MPD organization and discipline; the department's General Orders define standards of conduct and reporting requirements.

Nepotism and conflict-of-interest rules prohibit officers from using official position for personal benefit or for the benefit of family and associates.

Truthfulness is a core condition of employment; a sustained finding of dishonesty can result in termination and placement on a Brady/Giglio list affecting future testimony.

Gifts and gratuities: officers may not accept anything of value that could influence or appear to influence official actions.

Use of social media: officers may not post case information, images from scenes, or statements that compromise investigations or the department's reputation.

Reporting misconduct is mandatory; retaliation against a reporting officer is prohibited and is itself a disciplinary offense.

Body-worn cameras: activation, deactivation, and retention are governed by agency policy; failure to activate without justification is a policy violation.

Off-duty conduct is subject to discipline when it brings discredit to the department or interferes with the officer's ability to perform duties.

Discipline follows progressive and matrix-based models in many agencies, with presumptive penalties for specified violations; appeals follow the applicable CBA and DC personnel rules.