What is OII?
 
In 2021, the Washington State Legislature created the Office of Independent Investigations (OII), captured in RCW 43.102. This is in response to the demand for change from the community over citizen deaths resulting from encounters with law enforcement. The law requires these use of force investigations to be truly independent of the involved law enforcement agency.
 
OII will define a new approach to investigating use of force incidents, removing conflicts of interest and improving accountability, transparency and the public’s confidence.  Doing so will strengthen the relationship between police and the community while building public trust and promoting effective policing.
 
Position Overview:
As the Regional Investigations Supervisor, you will ensure critical decisions are made in response to incidents reported by involved law enforcement agencies. You may serve as the Incident Commander to manage the investigation scene, direct operations, and coordinate with other entities to apply resources and staffing to accomplish objectives. You will be a subject matter expert, and provide expert guidance and consultation to OII administration, investigative teams, legal counsel, and public/private entities.

You will also have the unique opportunity to partner with peer supervisors throughout the state to provide input and assistance on internal policy development, consistency in processes and procedures, obtaining necessary equipment and tools for investigative teams, ensure investigators complete necessary trainings and manage investigator hiring processes to maintain staffing needs. This position is overtime eligible. 
 
What you’ll do:

• Lead investigation team(s) in assigned geographic areas in complex, comprehensive, investigations of police use of deadly force, ensuring a non-biased, anti-racist lens. 
• Administer, plan, supervise, schedule, train, and maintain integrity and quality of regional investigation activities. 
• Serve as, or assign, an Incident Commander to manage critical incident scenes and provide leadership and direction to OII investigation teams. 
• Ensure appropriate investigation methods and procedures are followed to identify, collect, preserve evidence, witness statements, and coordination with on-scene personnel. 
• Maintain communication with Assistant Director of Investigations of all cases, including issues and best practices arising from investigations. 
• Deploy resources to support affected persons and/or witnesses and coordinate with appropriate support investigations and agencies. 
• Coordinate and ensure consistent interpretation of investigative policies, accountability, human resources issues, lessons learned, and best practice guidelines are followed. 
• Assign and monitor caseloads, review and approve investigation reports for quality and completeness, evaluate employee performance, monitor training plans, provide coaching, mentoring, and counseling to team. 
• Conduct hiring processes and interviews and recommend prospective staff for hiring. 
• Ensure performance expectations and criteria are established and met so the staff’s work is consistent and uniform with established policies and procedures. 
• Testify in court as needed.
• Build relationships and coordinate with police, coroners, deputy prosecutors, assistant attorneys general, local, state, and federal law enforcement, and other interested parties. 
• May carry a caseload and/or assume responsibility for investigations and subsequent court proceedings for critical cases and ensure court cases are prepared for and supported by investigations staff.
• Ensure investigators follow all requirements related to confidentiality, major case management principles and protocols, and data management. 
• Monitor self and investigative staff in following health and safety procedures. 
• Evaluate complaints against investigations staff:
  • Receive citizen and law enforcement complaints concerning the performance of investigation staff and ensure complaints are handled swiftly, in a professional manner, and according to OII policy. 
  • May investigate the complaint by conducting interviews and reviewing available evidence or supporting information. 
  • Confer with OII leadership on outcomes of internal investigations to identify appropriate resolution. 
  • Ensure internal complaints and outcomes are documented properly.
• When resources dictate, assist investigative teams in completing investigative tasks. 

 
Required Qualifications:

• Seven years’ experience with a law enforcement agency, criminal justice government agency, or investigative body with legal adversarial processes. 
• Three years’ experience leading staff and operations with proven success as a mentor and leader. 
• Demonstrated experience in:
  • Conducting complex criminal investigations to include managing homicide and/or serious crime investigations.
  • Providing testimony and presenting evidence in criminal court.
  • Working in a multi-disciplinary environment with sensitive and high-profile cases. 
  • De-escalation techniques and utilization of those techniques.
• Knowledge of Washington practices, including laws, policies, and procedures related to criminal law, criminal investigations, and policing. Significant knowledge of comparable practices outside of Washington may be used as a substitute for this requirement. 
• Experience using data and information to assess and understand issues, evaluate options, form conclusions, and make decisions. 
• Experience in caseload management by appropriately prioritizing and concurrently servicing multiple, long-term, case assignments integrating many factors into case decisions, ensuring accurate and high-quality service delivery. 
• Knowledge of the rules of evidence and chain of custody necessary to protect integrity of evidence gathered during an investigation. 
• High awareness of the need for and purpose of police oversight. 

 
Desired Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a field related to law, investigation and enforcement, psychology, sociology, forensics, criminology, or equivalent field. 
• Knowledge of relevant legislation, regulations, and experience working in quasi-judicial and judicial environments. 
• Experience as an analyst, including social media analysis or relevant investigations experience. 
• Experience in behavioral health issues, youth cognitive development, and trauma-informed interviewing. 

 
Conditions of Employment:
 

• On Aug. 9, 2021, Gov. Jay Inslee issued Proclamation 21-14 that requires all employees of executive cabinet agencies to be fully vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine before their employment. Pursuant to this mandate, you will be required to provide proof of vaccination as a part of the hiring process. Your vaccination status will be verified during the New Employee Onboarding process. Exemptions may be granted for religious or medical purposes.
• Must abide by Criminal Justice Information Sharing Agreements.
• Candidates will be required to pass a review of their background including a criminal history search, polygraph, and psychological evaluation. 
• Employees driving on state business must have a current, valid driver’s license. 
• Must be able to respond 24/7 state-wide as required as part of an on-call team. Ability to work-on call duty for periods of up to two weeks.
• The OII will require the applicant to consent to a review of all employing agency records documenting prior disciplinary actions or complaints.
• Must be able to in testify in court proceedings as needed. 
• Employees driving a privately owned vehicle on state business must have liability insurance on the privately-owned vehicle. 

 
 
Application Process
How to Apply
 
Interested? We would love to hear from you. Click “Apply” at the top of this page to start your application (you can save the application and come back to it, if needed). Please include the following:
 
 

1. A letter of interest that describes your specific qualifications.
2. A current resume that details your applicable experience and education.
3. A list of at least three professional references with current telephone numbers.

 
We will directly contact the top candidates to interview for this position. Because we base our selection on the information you provide, it is in your best interest to identify the knowledge, skills and abilities that address the required and desirable qualifications we described above.
  
Questions? 
 
For questions about this recruitment or to request reasonable accommodation in the application process, please email William Penzo at TalentAcquisition@ofm.wa.gov. For TTY service, please call the Washington Relay Service at 7-1-1 or 1-800-833-6388.
 
The Office of Independent Investigations is an equal opportunity employer. We strive to create a working environment that includes and respects cultural, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation and gender identity diversity. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, persons of disability, persons over 40 years of age, and disabled and Vietnam-era veterans are encouraged to apply. If you need accommodations or help in the application process, or who wish to receive this job announcement in an alternative format, you may call 360-725-0158 or dial 711 to reach the Telecommunications Device for the Deaf system.