Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

If you have a valid meritorious claim of police abuse, you should be consulting with counsel for advice. Since you filed a complaint, you are obligated to cooperate in the investigation, but need to do so properly. If serious about pursuing this, and serious about hiring counsel for the investigation or lawsuit, feel free to contact me.

Pitchess investigation, not a pitch investigation. It is named after the case.

In Pitchess v. Superior Court (1974), 11 Cal.3d 531, the California Supreme Court held that evidence of prior complaints against a peace officer is relevant to establish a character trail of an officer. One of the statutes enacted in response to the Pitchess decision was Penal Code section 832.5, which governs the record keeping and investigation of public entities that employe peace officers.

The name "Pitchess" is often used to describe a motion where the officer's character is an issue legitimately raised by the defense, and the complaint history of that specific office is sought.