a. A leave of absence with pay shall be granted to any officer who is a member of and is required to participate in the National Guard or other reserve components of the military service of the United States.
b. Military leave shall not exceed fifteen (15) duty days in any one (1) year period.
c. To receive such leave, the officer shall forward notification papers upon receipt to their Division Commander.
d. Activation steps.
1. The Chief of Police or his designee will notify a department peer liaison member of the pending deployment.
2. The peer liaison member will establish contact with the member's family to offer assistance and support throughout the deployment period.
3. The Chief of Police or his or her designee will be responsible for notifying human resources to cover benefits and leave rights.
4. The member will be provided contact numbers for the peer liaison member and Employee Assistance Program, as well as, phone numbers for his/her family to contact should questions or problems regarding benefits, and the like, by the Chief of Police or designee.
5. The Chief of Police or designee will meet with the member to ensure that his/her needs are met.
6. The member has the option of receiving non-confidential e-mail through his/her military account.
7. Provisions will be made to store the member's agency owned equipment during their deployment.
e. Activation phase.
1. The program goal is to maintain contact as often as possible with the activated member.
2. Contact may be through e-mail, packages, skype or similar medium, and written correspondence.
3. The peer liaison should maintain contact with the member's family and provide support as needed.
f. Deployment steps.
1. If available, the member may have non-confidential office e-mail forwarded to his/her military account.
2. The agency will assign one voluntary member (this could be the peer liaison member) as the point of contact for the family and the deployed member. At a minimum, the liaison/volunteer should have contact with the family at least once a month.
3. The Chief of Police or designee should avail themselves to the family members for face to face meetings, at the family's request, to assure needs are being addressed.
g. Post deployment. The agency's goal is to support the returning member and assist with the transition back to work. The pace of re-entry will be determined by the returning member, who will develop a transition plan with the Chief of Police or Deputy Chief.
h. Work re-entry phases. Returning to work:
1. The Chief of Police or his designee should meet the member on the first day of work, primarily to welcome them back, but to also discuss any questions or areas of concerns.
2. The Chief of Police or designee will notify human resources of the return and have a representative contact the member to cover benefits.
3. The member will be provided with appropriate peer support and Employee Assistance Program contact number.
4. The member shall visit an appropriate mental health clinician mutually agreed to by the member and the Chief of Police or designee. Time will be granted to attend the appointment with the clinician or the Veteran's Administration. There will be a minimum of five (5) visits to include: within the first 2 weeks of return; at the end of reintegration; 3 months; 6 months; and 1 year of return. An optional waiver is available for the member to consider signing which allows for dialogue with management concerning issues of reintegration.
5. The member has ninety (90) days from termination of military orders to return to work. He/she should set the time frame to start back.
6. The member will be afforded use of accrued leave time for up to thirty (30) days during this 90 day period.
7. Upon return to work, the member shall be put into a modified duty status to re-adjust to daily work routines, as well as, to get reacquainted with police changes, current issues, policies, procedures and protocols.
i. Sworn members. Sworn members shall not be assigned to patrol work without first completing a reorientation period for a minimum of two weeks.
1. Week one return to work.
(a) Modified duty week.
(b) Member will meet with his or her appropriate commander to obtain/reissue all necessary equipment and agency owned equipment which had been stored during deployment.
(c) Member will attend mandatory briefing with human resources to cover benefits.
(d) Member will obtain training facilitated by the police department to include; first aid, control and restraint, legal updates, policy changes, and firearms. They must also attend a mandatory meeting with a mental health clinician.
2. Week two return to work.
(a) Upon the successful completion of week one, the member shall be placed with a sergeant, senior officer, or upon request, a former deployed officer (willing and available) working patrol, for a minimum of one week or an amount of time agreed upon by the member and the Deputy Chief.
(b) The member shall be allowed to assist in the design of the reintegration process in order to cover areas the member feels should be addressed.
(c) The final step in the reintegration process will be a follow-up visit to an approved mental health clinician upon completion of the reintegration plan.
3. Six month follow-up.
(a) The member shall meet with an approved mental health clinician.
(b) The Chief of Police or designee will make contact with the returning member after working in the field for six (6) months as a final departmental check-in unless the situation dictates otherwise.
j. The goal should always be to support the returning member and the member's family through the entire activation and deployment, ending with the member's healthy transition back to work. The pace of the reentry phase will be determined by the deployed member and the specific needs as mutually identified by the Chief of Police or designee and the member.
(Ord. No. 1871, § 2, 7-8-15)