Report Writing, Documentation, and Testimony
This domain tests whether your paperwork proves the elements of the charge and whether your testimony survives cross-examination without contradicting it.
Writing that proves elements
- Write to the elements, not to the story. For each charge, state the facts that satisfy each element separately.
- Chronological, first person, active voice. Quote statements exactly and mark approximations; never improve a quote.
- Facts, not conclusions. He had a heavy odor of alcohol, slurred speech and bloodshot eyes is evidence; he was intoxicated is an opinion.
- Capture who, what, when, where, why and how, plus injuries, medical aid, force used, evidence vouchered, witnesses, body-worn camera activation, and the disposition of the arrestee.
Force and evidence documentation
- A force report must state what the subject was doing, what you did, why it was necessary, what else you considered, who witnessed it, and what aid was rendered.
- Every written item is discoverable under CPL § 245.20. Memo book entries, scratch notes and drafts are covered; destruction of notes creates a Rosario problem.
Testimony
- Prepare by reading the report and the paperwork trail. Testifying from memory while your report says otherwise is the classic credibility loss.
- I do not know or I do not recall is an acceptable answer; guessing is not. Refreshing recollection with your own report is proper.
- Grand jury testimony permits hearsay in defined circumstances under CPL § 190.30.
Worked example
Arresting for PL § 205.30 resisting arrest requires proof the underlying arrest was lawful and proof of the physical acts constituting resistance, plus the force used to overcome it. A report that says only that he resisted and was arrested fails to establish either element.
Traps
Boilerplate borrowed from another case; stating reasonable suspicion without the underlying observations; omitting the force narrative because the subject was not injured; leaving out camera activation or non-activation.