– Executive Summary –
Studies have demonstrated that negative media narratives amplify critiques and degrade public trust.[1] This thesis investigates the impact of methods for criminal investigations of officer-involved shootings (OIS) on media narratives and subjective police legitimacy, focusing on the tenets of procedural justice principles. Per the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), the four tenets of procedural justice are voice, neutrality, respectful treatment, and trustworthiness.[2] By evaluating case studies of the Vallejo and San Diego Police Departments, the research explores whether shifts to external investigative models influence media portrayals of an agency’s legitimacy. The findings provide insight into how adjustments to OIS investigative structures can mitigate negative media portrayals of law enforcement conduct.
RESEARCH FRAMEWORK
The research herein is based on the concepts of procedural justice and police legitimacy, as conceptualized by Tom R. Tyler and others. Procedural justice emphasizes fairness in law enforcement processes, which in turn improves public trust and leads to an increase in the public’s obedience to the law. Additionally, literature connects the role of media in defining aggregate public opinion by amplifying or silencing narratives in the reporting. This study bridges a gap in scholarship by focusing on how criminal investigations of OIS events impact media framing and, therefore, public opinion and police legitimacy.
To understand the landscape of OIS investigative methods currently utilized by California law enforcement, this work reviewed the policies of over 100 agencies. It identified four variations of investigative models and the pathways for each: (1) investigations run by the employing agency, (2) task forces involving members from multiple agencies, (3) investigations conducted by a neighboring agency, and (4) district attorney (DA) inspector-led investigations. (See Figure 1.)
Mapping the tenets of procedural justice, especially neutrality, over the structure of each of the four methods revealed that some more effectively align with the principles of legitimacy than others. The analysis also revealed some inconsistencies between the written policies of police agencies and other documents enshrining OIS investigative methods in the same jurisdiction, underscoring a recommendation for more consistency across the profession.
Using multiple-case analysis, this work examines the relationship between officer-involved shooting investigations and police legitimacy by analyzing how the media frames such incidents, noting evidence of subjective legitimacy. The study employs a qualitative case study approach, examining media coverage before and after changes in investigative practices by assessing themes of voice, neutrality, trust, and respect. It categorizes investigative methods into four models—internal, task force, neighboring agency, and district-attorney-led investigations—and evaluates media coverage of the operations of Vallejo and San Diego police departments as they use three of those four OIS investigation models.
Figure 1. California OIS Investigation Assignment (Current as of December 2024)[3]
KEY FINDINGS
Media and Legitimacy: Media narratives can affect public opinion of police legitimacy. The Vallejo Police Department (PD), which faced criticism for internal investigations, saw improved media coverage after transitioning to an external task force model. The San Diego PD experienced marginal legitimacy improvements in the press by shifting to a neighboring agency investigation method.
Investigative Models and Neutrality: An agency investigating its employees uses a method vulnerable to accusations of bias and favoritism. Task forces and neighboring agency models provide moderate neutrality but contain some conflicts of interest. The State Department of Justice (DOJ) operates the most independent model, but is reserved only for officer-involved shootings of unarmed civilians. The state DOJ does not currently have the capacity or mandate to investigate the large number of officer-involved shootings of armed civilians.[4]
Legislative Gaps: Despite recent California laws mandating body-worn camera (BWC) footage release and new legal standards, no consistent statewide policy governs OIS investigations, leaving room for significant variations across the profession in California. Such variations create inconsistent standards between agencies and leave some vulnerable to perceptions of bias via their OIS investigative models. Establishing standardized methods could address that vulnerability by improving neutrality.
RECOMMENDATIONS
For Law Enforcement Agencies:
- To improve media portrayals and thus police legitimacy, adopt more neutral investigative methods, such as task forces or neighboring agency-led investigations.
- Enhance transparency by aligning policy language with investigative practices.
For Policymakers:
- Establish statewide standards for OIS investigations to ensure consistency.
- Consider expanding funding for California’s Department of Justice to investigate all OIS cases, not just those involving unarmed civilians.
For Future Research:
- Conduct quantitative studies to measure media sentiment pre- and post-investigative changes.
- Explore financial, cultural, and organizational barriers to transitioning between investigative methods.
- Assess police personnel’s perceptions of investigative methods to complement media analysis.
CONCLUSION
This study concludes that OIS investigative methods influence procedural justice perceptions and media narratives. Agencies that adopted more independent investigation practices experienced improvements in media portrayal and legitimacy. However, California’s absence of standardized OIS policies leaves the profession vulnerable to accusations of inconsistent and biased practices, which can undermine legitimacy. The recommendations emphasize establishing clearer standards and promoting neutral investigative models to ensure police agency consistency and resiliency. Law enforcement agencies and policymakers are encouraged to use these findings to review and reinforce their investigative practices through the lens of media narratives, public trust, and police legitimacy.
[1] Joan Donovan and Danah Boyd, “Stop the Presses? Moving from Strategic Silence to Strategic Amplification in a Networked Media Ecosystem,” American Behavioral Scientist 65, no. 2 (2021): 333–50, https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764219878229.
[2] California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, “Procedural Justice and Police Legitimacy,” California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, December 6, 2023, https://post.ca.gov/procedural-justice-and-police-legitimacy.
[3] Adapted from: California Office of the Attorney General, “AB 1506: Officer-Involved Shooting Investigations and Reviews,” Current Cases under Review by the California Department of Justice, July 6, 2021, https://oag.ca.gov/ois-incidents; and the author’s analysis of over 100 California law enforcement policy manuals. See Table 4 in Appendix B for referenceable material.
[4] Stephen Woolery, State of California Budget Change Proposal 2022-2023 (Sacramento, CA: California Department of Justice, 2022), 5, https://esd.dof.ca.gov/Documents/bcp/2223/FY2223_ORG0820_BCP4943.pdf.
